A Storm from the West
by The Sesh
Summary: Naruto, Hinata, Shikamaru, and Sakura were called to the Hokage's office to hear about some disturbing news sent from Iwagakure, Where ANBU have been found murdered by person or persons unknown. Rated M for violence/dark themes/adult themes and probably lemon. Cannon used after the events from the Anime alone (not the manga or movies) Original and off cannon characters.
1. Act I Chapter I V2

**Authors Notes: Hey, this is my first time writing Fan-Fiction so i am rusty with how things work here. Reviews and comments are appreciated especially constructive notes. I am hoping to Publish some actual fiction one day.**

 **I will be going into darker themes (not based on real events either) and I can't stress it enough because I don't wish to offend anyone (Unless its about those made up names, I just strung together letters and thought it sounded ok but i understand if they are awful)**

 **This is actually chapter 1 and 2 Their lengths are fairly consistent so tell me if you like the length or prefer shorter.**

 **I'll try to upload once a week but that could change due to circumstances or if i am able to write enough for two uploads a week.**

 **Second Edition notes: i've updated this chapter and i am going to add the disclaimer (i remembered it in the next chapter but i should really have it here)**

 **I don't own Naruto, same goes for all future chapters. Please support the original owners and writers who made this amazing universe which many of us enjoy.**

 **Hope you enjoy. ^.^**

"Come in" Kakashi ordered at the door across her office. She was briefly patting himself down, adjusted the hokage's hat and settled in between two piles of documents. Four ninja entered the room, Sakura, Shikamaru, Hinata and Naruto who was scratching his head over some distant thought. The four stood in front of the hokage and waited to see what Kakashi wanted to tell them.

"I have a mission for you." He paused, "Rank A"

Three of the young adults looked concerned because it has been almost a year since the village needed a rank A mission done. Naruto, resorting back to his childish excitedment.

"Tell us Kakashi, what needs to be done that requires me! The best ninja in the villiage!"

Shikamaru and Sakura both rolled their eyes. Naruto still hasn't grown up. Kakashi glared.

"Now isn't the time to be excited, I fear this might end up as a rank S mission."

"So what is it?" Sakura replied.

"I am not sure you know about this but for a few months now many people have been killed Nearby and within the land of Earth. Now most of these have been bandits, thieves, and slavers but." Kakashi sighed and stood to look out of the window. "Two days ago, four of the Stone's ANBU were found killed on mission along with their charge."

The room took to a morbid silence, ANBU were elite and difficult to defeat because of their unique ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu. They were often picked for specific and dangerous tasks which did put them at risk on almost every mission. However four deaths and total mission failure was almost unheard from shinobi of their caliber. Kakashi continued.

"The Village hidden in the Stone has asked for help within the shinobi alliance to find out who was responsible. Many of the villages are struggling since the great war and the Land of Earth is having too many issues with crime. Sakura!" She stood to attention. "You are the medic on this mission."

"Yes"

"Shikamaru! you're relieved of current duties to be team leader and to put your intelligence to something other than paper work." Shikamaru nodded but he sighed a little at the trouble this will cause. "Hinata, help with your sensory abilities."

"Y-Yes Hokage" She responded getting nervous about the mission already.

"And Naruto, protect everyone."

"You can count on me!" He gave the thumbs up with his left arm which was still wrapped in bandages as he had it replaced after he lost the limb fighting Sasuke at the valley of the End. There had been talks of rebuilding the statues as Naruto and Sasuke as a memorial to the last great war, some wanted to keep the original Madara and Hashirama. Others felt it aught to be left as it is now. Nevertheless the idea was on the back-burner for now.

"The four of you are to help the Stone find out who killed the ANBU. They should have more information about what happened but know this. Do. Not. Engage. We have no idea what we are dealing with but if the enemy are strong enough to defeat ANBU. Or it is linked to the recent murders within the criminal world. Do you understand." The last part was largely directed towards Naruto who picked up on this and bowed his head in response but still grinned to the floor. Kakashi sighed as he knew that the best laid plans were doomed to fail when Naruto shook things up.

"Now go and leave on the hour. Make your way to Iwa." Kakashi dismissed with a wave of his hand. He didn't see the four leave as he was already buried himself in quickly scribbling notes down for later. Without Shikamaru or Shizune running the village won't be as smooth.

The four ninja left Kakashi in peace who wiped his forehead, he had not felt this uneasy since the fourth Great war. He put down his pen and notes and looked at the letter concerning about the Stone. He reassured himself over his choice not to tell them there was a possibility that this was an attack from a single assailant. Which meant he was strong enough to take on all four ANBU at the same time.

"ANBU!" He called and a masked ninja kneeled before him. The UNBU worse standard gray attire with a white mask in the shape of a cat. The 'whiskers' were painted green to symbolise the leaf. "Get Sai to send a message to Sauske, tell him he should head to Iwagakure." That should reassure him. No one really knew where Sasuke was but at least it was possible to communicate with him through Sai and His own Hawk summon which gave the village updates on progress but they were predictably vague so no one could decipher his location should his hawk be intercepted. Sai's messenger bird had the advantage of exploding into ink and so destroying the message. Kakashi could only guess if Sai actually knew where Sasuke was or if he had a way of finding out. But Sai's lips were sealed on the matter, even for the Hokage.

Forty minutes later and Naruto was found impatiently waiting by the North Gate. In his excitement to finally get a mission worthy of his skills he had rushed with full speed to be packed with supplies and gear to be ready for the journey. He leaned against the grand entrance and watched as the clouds slink past. His arms folded and one finger tapping against his arm. He was slowly relaxing though, the passing of the clouds was becoming a good pass-time. This was a habit from Shikamaru himself as he loved nothing more than to stop and stare at the heavens as they passed on by.

"Naruto." A soft voice called out and snapped Naruto's attention to where the voice came from. It was Hinata, she looked at Naruto with her pale silver eyes and long hair just catching in the breeze. Naruto smile and approached Hinata with is arms wide he embraced her. She was still shy but with the help from Naruto and the village she was steadily growing out of it and could be affectionate towards Naruto with only a slight blush. The couple weren't official, yet, but they had spent a lot of time together since the war, sharing missions and training together. The idea of hugging and maybe the odd sneaky kiss was the result of Hinata building up the courage and Naruto not minding her advances, even reciprocating them. They stood in the entrance and talked to each other about the last time they had left the village. To them it felt like an age had passed since they got something more important to do than deliveries, diplomacy or guarding.

A short way from the couple stood Sakura who was watching the two ninja talking. Shikamaru walked up behind her.

"You know you should be over there with them." Shikamaru prodded.

"Yeah sorry, just soaking up the view, they have been growing closer now." Sakura replied, she looked back at shikamaru who glanced away. "The idiot is finally growing up."

Shikamaru didn't reply but instead calmly walked up to Naruto and Hinata with Sakura following behind. Once Shikamaru approached he called out.

"Ready to go? We have a long walk ahead of us."

Naruto burst out "Alright! Let's go!" and the team followed Naruto out of their home village.

The party continued on towards the Village hidden in the Stone. On the first day of their journey was through the Land of fire. The places was heavily forested hence the name given to Konoha. Some parts were dangerous and some parts were still yet to be discovered. Streams, caves, cliffs, even ruins hid within the forest creating a varied feel to the place. The path they walked down was the main road to the West, stopping through some towns and villages or branching out to other unseen settlements. Over the course of the next day, the landscape becoming increasingly mountainous with deep forested valleys, though the trees were mostly pine by now, and the mountain tops capped with snow despite it being the height of summer. The journey was uneventful and filled with eat, sleep, and walking. Eventually they came within viewing distance of Iwagakure, standing proudly at the top of the valley and looking down to numerous hamlets and villages as people had started gathering around the shinobi villages to share the prosperity and protection won from the great war. The party who stood at a height above the tree canopy looked at the peaceful picture. For Naruto, this was reward enough, he fought against all odds so the world could find peace. The group began to descend into the valley.

By the time the ninjas reached the original Village of the Stone they had been trying to find an inn to recover for one last night as a treat from their walk. Unfortunately, nowhere had enough available rooms for them so they were forced to report in tired. Once they reached to gates which was calved from the surrounding stone a messenger was waiting for them. A young shinobi waiting patiently in the middle of the gate. He looked around fourteen with a brand-new headband and a standard maroon uniform. The boy ran up to the leaf ninja and bowed before asking them to follow him to the Tsuchikage.

The party was lead straight to the Tsuchikage who had been waiting for them since he heard about their approach. The Tsuchikage was Ohnoki himself, a venerable man who had held office for as long as anyone could remember. His white hair made his posture look wise although he has been known to glare holes into his enemies with his eyes alone. Of late he had been falling ill more often as age was catching up and time was cruel in its treatment over the old Tsuchikage. Recently he had been giving more and more kage powers to his granddaughter, Kurotsuchi, and grooming her to take his place. Ohnoki sat surrounded by officials and trusted shinobi. He stared at the door waiting for a knock which surely came.

The group was lead in by the young shinobi who then bowed and left the room closing the door behind. The Tsuchikage, Ohnoki, grumbled.

"Is this it? Hmph I guess it'll do."

He looked around the room to see some familiar faces and some unfamiliar faces. There were the jonin ninjas from the Leaf, Hinata, Naruto, Sakura, and Shikamaru. He gave a nod of approval. He looked at the ninjas from the Sand. Another team of four, this time chunin level. He recognised Gaara's student, Matsuri, but the other three looked like her age and ability. Two more ninjas from the Cloud, both looked in their forties and well experienced. The man even had an aged scar while the woman had bandages over most of her exposed arms. Lastly the Tsuchikage looked at the ninja sent by the Mist. He was a tall, a good head height taller than the other shinobi present. His armour brandished several sets of weapons and tools. The man stood with his arms crossed and silently waiting.

"As you all know since the war civilians have been gravitating towards our villages. I am not sure how everyone is coping, but crime and gangs have been on the rise and." He paused. "Been difficult to deal with." He sighed at admitting the social troubles which plagued his village. "Every time we deal with one gang another takes its place. While most of the bandits were citizens taking advantage of our weakness some of the larger gangs have shinobi joining up with them. This was the main issue we have been talking since the great war. Until about two months ago, suddenly certain gangs and bandits were being killed off by an unknown shinobi. At first, we thought about leaving the matter. Most of the gangs that were targeted were the worst of the humanity. Slavers, murders, and rapists. Ex-shinobi and Non-shinobi alike." The Tsuchikage stopped to collect his thoughts and to make sure everyone was listening and waited for questioning.

Matsuri spoke up. "Until your ANBU were attacked?" Ohnoki nodded.

"You are correct, the recent deaths made us think about two things. First, who's side are they on? Second, how powerful are they?"

"Do we have any leads?" Shikamaru spoke his thoughts outloud.

"We think it's a single male and the incident is related to the bandits somehow. Their wounds are similar"

"Your report said the ANBU and their charge were killed, any ideas on why their charge was attacked?" The woman from the Cloud spoke. She had a gentle voice and she flicked her hair back as if it helped her concentrate further.

Kurotsuchi, one of the Tsuchikage's bodyguards, his granddaughter, and his right-hand woman. replied. "I remember his request. It was ten days ago, when he made it. A rich nobleman who offered to pay double for protection, Hence the ANBU. His name was." She looked through a few sheets of paper and bringing one to the top. "Chuno Fritushi. A man in charge of a large estate west of here. He offered money but also a sheet of paper, he spoke about he didn't want it anymore and he feared if he kept it any longer he would become a target. At the scene, no piece of paper was found, well not to his description."

"Do we know anything about the paper?" One of Matsuri's team-mates spoke up

"Only that it was very valuable, clearly enough to kill for, apparently."

Sakura had a thought and then shared it. "Do we know of any of his abilities?"

"Actually, we do. Although there aren't many survivors from the bandits; some witnesses have reported use of lightning chakra, a katana blade, and kunai. The wounds on the dead seem to back up their testimony."

Ohnoki waited for more questions with his eyes closed. He opened them. "Right you youngsters, I am allowing Kurotsuchi to join you in this investigation. I wish I could spare more but we have civil-protection duties to carry out. You are all dismissed but listen to Kurotsuchi. She will lead the investigation and organise information and roles for you all."

The team of twelve walked out of the office and Kurotsuchi lead them to a hall. She stood and addressed each group. "Alright here is the plan, although feel free to adapt it to suit your needs. Sand shinobi, can I have your names please?"

"Matsuri." Matsuri replied. She wore the tan flak jacket with a protective had which covered her brown hair and neck from the sand. She was armed with a coiled Johyo on her belt.

"Mitsuoni." A female shinobi with long dark purple hair with the tips bleached white. Dressed similar to Matsuri only without a hard and under her flak jacket was a dark purple kimono which was custom made to still allow movement but allured to her slim and beautiful figure. She wasn't visibly armed but he sweet stature was not to be misinterpreted.

"I'm Atalre and this is Silent Geno." He was the shinobi who spoke before and had the same goofy smile Naruto used to brandish at every given moment. He carried a Naginata in his hand, using it to lean on. Silent Geno simply nodded and scratched his already growing goatee. Staying true to his name he remained quiet. Both wore standard sand shinobi gear although Silent Geno was a good size or two lager than his friend who introduced him.

"Alright." Responded Kurotsuchi. "We have a few bandit survivors in prison, I'd like you to see what they know about the whole situation."

Kurotsuchi. Called in a young genin to show the Sand the way. She passed a letter to said genin who then left with the Sand shinobi in tow.

"Shinobi from the Clouds. Your names please."

"Druarni." The woman spoke with her soft voice.

"And I'm her partner, Arra" Both had well used equipment and Arra has a Katana sheathed on his back."

"You two are to deliver this message to the Ro Alliance, they seem to be benefitting from gangs being killed off. The Tsuchikage wishes to strike a deal with them if it means we get more information."

She turned to the tall ninja from the Mist. "Yonoaka was it?"

He spoke in a deep voice. "I see you have heard of me." The remaining leaf ninja looked a little puzzled because they had no idea who he was. Yonoaka continued. "What do you wish for me to do."

"I need you to go around finding criminal gangs and see if they know anything, apprehend them if you have evidence of their wrong doing, and if possible. Also, try and find our target. Out of everyone here I know that you are superior as an assassin. Try to keep the target alive."

"I shall return with him." He left the room with the two Stone shinobi.

Lastly Kurotsuchi turned to the remaining four ninjas. "I know about Naruto, Sakura, and Shikamaru, but may I have your name miss?"

"Hinata Hyuuga." She spoke quietly and bowed at the woman. Kurotsuchi managed to hear and jotted her name down.

"I'd like the four of you to go to the Fritushi estate and see if you can find out more about why he was targeted." She then looked at the door and called out. The same genin who greeted the four at the gates entered the room.

"My name is Tammarake, just ask if you need help around the village."

"Thank you, we'd like to find a room to sleep in." Shikamaru replied.

"And somewhere to eat, man I'm starving." Interrupted Naruto. Shikamaru sighed, he'd rather get some sleep, but Naruto practically runs on food, ramen specifically.

After a few minutes the group was lead through Iwa to find a street restaurant, which had enough free seats for the five of them. The buildings were built high and using the natural rock wherever possible although no rock never stopped additional buildings being build at almost every big of available space. Traversing the village and street level proved to be confusing as many roads were narrow and had stairs going up, stairs going down; and many more branches off into many alleyways which snaked through the town like veins within the body. Once they brushed past the curtains Naruto called to the familiar face.

"Bushy Brow!" Naruto stopped, something was missing, a certain sense of youth he usually had. "What's wrong?" Sakura and Hinata both heard Naruto and entered expecting Lee

"I didn't know you were here Lee.. what's wrong?" Sakura repeated.

Lee looked up from his tea. "Oh hey guys, it's that obvious isn't it."

"So what happened Lee." Sakura asked, you could see a dim light shine in Lee's eyes.

"I was training this years' youth in the mountains." Everyone thought poor kids but did not interrupt. "One genin managed to get lost in the mountains and I haven't been able to find her. No one blames me but I feel responsible for her." Lee suddenly shouted up to the air so much so onlookers turned to see who was shouting. "Damn it I won't rest until I find her! Even if it takes up all of my youth to find out what happened to her then so be it."

"Could you tell us what she looks like. It could be connected to our search, can't leave any stones unturned." Shikamaru added, he had thought the possibility of a connection because of all the crime going on. He was not hopeful but it couldn't hurt to cheer up an old teammate, as troublesome as it sounded. Naruto on the other hand piped up.

"Yeah we will find her! Believe it! Don't worry Bushy Brows I'll get her back safe and sound!" In turn this has relit Lee's fire and he immediately smiled. Shikamaru and Sakura rolled their eyes over the optimism while Hinata quietly smiled and giggled over Naruto's childishness.

"Trust Naruto! He'll get her I just know it!" He gave Naruto a thumb up before he turned to the bored looking chef. "A bowl of ramen for my good friend here!"

"Now you're taking." Naruto sat along with the others, Naruto next to Lee, Hinata next to Naruto, Sakura next and lastly Shikamaru. They ordered and ate their food while Lee was giving details about the missing genin.


	2. Chapter II V2

**Obviously i don't own Naruto nor the characters, clearing that up now. Same disclaimer for all future and previous chapters.**

 **Hope you like things getting dark fast.**

 **Let me know what you think.**

 **second edition notes: Added more descriptions and such, same plot line just hopefully sounds better. Tried to iron out a few contradicting thoughts here and there, basically working it. As of writing this I had a good idea but i forgot so i'll come back to this once I've remembered.**

 **Two Weeks ago**

Monica was struggling to keep up with the main group. He heart was pounding, her breathing was heavy, and her legs felt like they were going to snap. Lee, her sensei, had been pushing her hard to improve which she believed was both a blessing and curse. On one side she needed the extra training as she kept on falling behind, which was the other side. She was considered average in terms of looks, a few freckles dotted on her fair skin and she held her headband with the leaf symbol on her forehead, to keep her orange hair out of her eyes. She would have been called ginger if it weren't for the vibrancy of her colour. The shoulder length hair seemed to shift from bright gold highlights to dark brown shadows, depending on the light. She played down her femininity through a beige coat and certain tight fitting clothes which instead of showing off her figure, made herself less noticeable with a pressed chest and the illusion of thinner hips. Her coat was practical too, holding many pockets and made of scratch and water resistant material.

Now she was falling behind with two other ninjas keeping her unwanted company. She gritted her teeth as she chose her route over and over, she could never get the hang of foresight and blind trust in the trees. With the aid of her chakra she would grip onto a tree like a limpet and make sure of her footing before leaping across to the next tree. The forest they were training grew large pine trees. Many times taller than the oak and the alder, elm and the ash; back around the village hidden in the leafs, Konoha. There were fewer branches at what was seen as a 'safe' height. So the genin trainees had to either make do with gripping from the very bark of the trunk or get higher.

"Come on Monica this is easy." Teased a boy called dentsu. He worse bandages over his arms which were now dirty from the training.

"I could do this all day." Jeered the other boy called Nago. Usually known for wearing hoodies but right now, wearing tight fitting black shinobi vest so he didn't have to worry about damaging his preferred clothes.

These two unfortunately were her teammates. Them, and along with the majority of her class, felt she wasn't meant to be with them. She was two years older because she wasn't as skilled as most graduates and took longer to become a genin. Lee noticed how her efforts were proving somewhat fruitless and he knew that she was trying to improve. So Lee gave her a 'helping' hand. Now she was exhausted and forced to be teased as part of her torment. She hated the fact she did not have much in the way of natural talent. Nevertheless, her sensei had inspired her to keep going to which she was sure she should have passed out hours ago. An improvement in stamina to which she was grateful for but still desired to be better, to shut up her teammates.

"Hey Nago, want to make a bet? Tonight's pudding says she'll run into a tree."

"Oh, I like that, But I think she ill trip and fall out of the trees."

She tried to ignore them. Unfortunately, they teased just enough to distract her. She gripped the sappy tree trunk too hard and she got a burning sensation as her right palmed grazed against the sticky bark. She started blowing on her hand in an effort for the pain to wear off. However, this just resulted in a chain reaction of feebily grabbing onto something, anything, and a lot of screaming. Before she knew it, Monica was staring up at the sky from the bottom of a tree. She could hear the laughing of her teammates grow fainter as they never stopped to help her. When Monica tried to move she was met with the resistance arrived from total exhaustion. Her body had enough, exhaustion and pain dragged her down to a dark and uncomfortable sleep.

"Well well well! Look at what we have here. Lost in the wood are we dear?"

Monica opened her eyes, she felt like she was being mocked again. She jumped up in fright, those voices were too old to be her classmates. She focused her eyes to wake up fully. It was evening and the blue sky was hinting at an orange sunset. Standing in front of her were three men clad in leather and plated armour and weapons, mostly a range of daggers and kunai, were drawn. Monica took her kunai out from her pouch and held it in her right hand. The cold metal sizzling with pain against her raw skin which had been rubbed off when she fell.

"Easy now darling, listen to us and we won't hurt you." One spoke with lies in his voice

"Yeah we are your friends, we know a place where we can get you cleaned up." Smirked the other bandit.

Monica had heard enough. No one would buy those lies, except maybe the blind or really dumb because they were obviously holding back smiles and giggles from they little 'performance'. She had to escape but to do that she first had to attack. She leaped forward to strike at the closest bandit. In retaliation the bandit grabbed her by the neck and throw her against the tree trunk. Gasping for air she looked up. Her body was moving too slowly. She bit her lip to manage the pain returning from her fall. She lunged back forward but this time she darted to the right. Too slow. The bandit's deadly blade had caught her and glided through her flesh from her left thigh, up her left side, and only stopped at her ear. The young girl collapsed onto the forest floor. She was telling herself to get up but her left side felt like it was white hot. She coughed up blood and thought to herself 'why'. She couldn't feel her leg o her arm. Her right arm still worked but she made a feeble attempt to raise her guard. The last thing she saw was a large boot aimed right for her face before her body gave up and she slipped away from consciousness but not before a dull kick to the face.

Monica woke up again. As far as she could tell, she was indoors and the orange glow of fire illuminated her surroundings. It was a simple large room built into a cave or some rocky feature. The ceiling was thick with smoke and the air stung her eyes a little. Aside from that the room held few objects, some retrofitted logs and stones as seats and a few rugs for comfort. This screamed rough living or at least a hideout and more luxurious accommodation was available. Her body refused to move in its bonds but as time passed she could hear voices talking, heading for the room she was tied up in. She was getting some energy back but it was best to not move. Even twitching sent pain shooting throughout her body. A glance to her left shoulder showed some of her wound. Caked in dirt and dried blood she was surprised she didn't bleed out. From her field of vission she could see the ground was soaked in her blood as well, she was still bleeding.

"We could get hostage money from her, She's from the Leaf anyway. They'll pay good money if it means one of them gets back… _alive_." He looked at the vulnerable shinobi laying on the floor. The man glared at the others to get the message through that they can't do too much to her.

"Man we really have had an impressive haul today." Another voice bragged

"Once she is awake we should have a bit of fun, I get first dibs, damn I hope she's a virgin."

Monica closed her eyes. Oh shit she repeated to herself. Shit Shit Shit she cursed while pretending to be unconscious. Hoping they would be put off if she wasn't awake to 'enjoy' the bandits. To put it in their words of course.

"Why not now while she's unconscious?" The room then roared up in laughter.

"You hound!" The laughing continued but soon died down.

"Ah you don't get it; her struggling is part of the fun. Unless you want to take her on dates and buy her flowers. What are you, a romantic fuck?" the teasing continued.

"Alright I get it, sheesh, Well if you get first dibs I'll get first pick of the earnings."

"You know what? Fuck it. Deal."

"Yeah check if she's awake I'm getting horny just by thinking about it now."

"Psh." Monica could hear one of the bandits approach where she was laying.

"Hey lady are you awake?" He stood on her thigh where the cut was its deepest. All she had to do was not move. Not feel Pain. It hurt too much, and she gave a cry to stop it. She writhed in her bonds which caused more pain, all she wanted to do was soothe her wounds. "Ah she's awake." The man laughed at her pain while Monica started to wriggle away which put her through excruciating pain and all the while her left side was still too too stiff to move.

"Where are you going lady?" He took a kunai out and buried it into the floor by her head and leaving it as a message for her to stop. Tear rolling down her eyes as she looked away. This is it she thought. "Hey, she's all yours, try not to burn out all of the fire in her eyes. I love how they sparkle in pain, anger and fear." He walked away for the man who called 'first dibs'. Passing his comrade he commented.

"Romantic fuck." The man grabbed her and pulled her legs closer. She wanted to resist but found he was too strong for her. He was going to rape her and that would be it. Life over, Career over, chances of redemption or at least getting even with her teammates, over. She could hear him getting prepared

Monica suddenly heard the man above her scream out in agony. She looked up at him to see the point of a blade piercing out of his chest where his heartless heart ought to be. The blade sunk back into the chest only to be swing around and cut the man into two halves. Blood splattered across Monica's face. She watched in awe as the shinobi who had cleaved through the rapist spun to parry the blade of the bandit behind. He looked left and threw a kunai with his left hand straight into another man's neck who scratched at it as he fell. With another spin, he kicked the third aggressor in the face and caused him to fall back. Standing ready for the next attack. The kicked man jumped back up and the two remaining fighters bore their swords down on the shinobi. He blocked both blades easily, their strength was no match for the two bandits. With the two blades locked he threw them both back and with lightning reflexes he cleaved the right arm off one man then immediately sliced his neck wide open. Before the dead man could fall the sword plunged into the last man's chest from his shoulder. The unknown shinobi turned to face Monica. He sheathed his sword and approached the girl. His left hand became blazing bright yellow. Monica's vision began to blur. Her body shutting down again from the blood loss. She couldn't. She had to see who her saviour was.

Suddenly one of the bandits who had jutsu up his sleeve became visible and stood above Monica. The was a cry and the shinobi, who hadn't anticipated an invisible enemy. Had his right hand covering his left eye. Crimson blood coating his left side. With a look of death on his face he drew a kunai seemingly from nowhere and flicked it at the new opponent. He laughed as he easily moved to deflect the kunai. The moment the two blades touched a bright flash of yellow followed by dancing sparks. The second kunai hit its target, followed by a third, then a forth, a fifth, and a sixth. The man was long dead but her saviour brought his left hand to his face and with a small burst of chakra. The blades erupted in powerful arcs of electricity burning the body as it fell into a heap on the floor.

Monica tried with all her might to stay conscious. She knew enough that he was cutting her bonds with his left hand. She felt her body being picked up. With the last of her strength she reached out to touch his cheek and focus on his face. She looked right into his purple right eye then she looked at his left eye and saw the open wound on his face. Cutting through where his eye used to be.

As Monica rested she started dreaming of her class laughing, laughing and mocking her. Calling her names and teasing her. Around in a circle and provided no escape, she had to push through the people to get out. She had to get out, air was choking her but she had not noticed the important detail, she could hear the laughing but the bodies had no owner, no face, no identity. She'd then return home to a mother who was getting ready to leave, run away and pushed passed her daughter, knocking her over and not saying a word as she abandoned the household. A father who didn't even acknowledge her existence, sitting on a sofa and drunk beyond sanity, his gray eyes lacked the spark of life as he sat and made no attempt to stop his wife. She'd head to her room only to hear more laughing from outside. Tapping on the window as pebbles were thrown at the glass. Turning now to try and block out the voices she saw herself in the mirror, Hideous and covered in spots, marks, and scars. The laughing growing louder. Stop it Stop it Stop, shit fuck, she kept cursing and swearing to the voices in her head. With a gasp she woke up to the real world.

Looking around she saw it was dark. She was leaning against a tree trunk with a thick cloak covering her body. She looked over the fire in front of her. Sitting by the fire and staring into it was the shinobi from earlier, He was wearing a sleeveless jacket. His right arm showed black tattooed patterns on his shoulders while his left arm was completely covered in ornate and intricate patterns. Looking up at his face she noticed he had a bandage covering his left eye and a fresh scar over his cheek. He snapped out of his trance and in a rough voice spoke out.

"Morning will be up soon, it'll be safe for you to go back then. Just rest."

"Who are you?" Monica mumbled. She may of had a jolt waking up but quickly she settled down and grew tired almost immediately.

"Doesn't matter."

"But you saved me?"

"Could have been anyone, I'm not special."

"B-but you lost your eye for me?" She was staring at the red scar which was coated in something that looked green.

"If it makes you feel better I lost it years ago." Monica was surprised. He looked around her age or perhaps a little older. She noticed he was dirty and had unkempt hair. It was difficult to tell his emotions were, he just glared into the fire with a voice expressionless and devoid of caring that he had lost a piece of him. After silence crept back in between them. Only the crackling of the fire penetrated the night. It was difficult to comprehend a life where you could be injured so young. Yes, Monica knew that a shinobi life was dangerous and she had seen older shinobi with many injuries, especially after the recent great war. At best he could only be chunin level.

"W-where is your headband?"

"Headband? Oh, I don't have one."

"But which village do you belong to?" Monica asked but the man didn't reply to her. He allowed silence to creep in and had no intention of answering her. Monica eventually worked out that her left arm worked again and she reached up to touch her ear. She felt something sticky just below it and pulled away to see a green substance on her fingers.

"Don't touch your wound, I've sealed it but that doesn't mean it won't reopen. The green stuff is just a herbal mix to help it scar over."

The female shinobi sat up to get a more comfortable view of her saviour. As she sat up the cloak fell off her chest and she realised she was actually topless. Unintentionally gave him a full view of her breasts. Her cheeks blushed firetruck red and with an 'eep' she covered herself up with the cloak she was given.

"Y-you s-saw me t-topless?"

"Had to heal you, clothes were destroyed anyway. You can use the cloak until you find another top. You don't have to give it back." He remained expressionless, not giving a single thought that he just saw a pair of breasts. She swallowed and she accepted that no reaction was better than and over reaction. Still she never knew a guy to dismiss a naked woman, much less to take advantage of her. For some reason she could trust his word, healing was all he intended to do.

"H-how did you find me? Who sent you?"

"Why do you want to go back?" He snapped back coldly.

"I didn't… I don't… What's your name at least?"

Her saviour sighed, "Fukushi."

"Thank you, for saving me, i thought..."

"You should sleep. I'll keep watch." Fukushi interupted. Normally Monica would have said something else but instead her eyes gladly agreed and closed as she leaned back.

Morning came and Monica found herself alone. Where was Fukushi? She got up and wrapped herself in her cloak. It was very early but light enough to see where she was sitting. The campsite was nothing more than a small cleft between two large trees and a small fire which was still smoldering in between the two trees. She noticed her headband was left on the floor and she picked it up to look at it. What did it mean to her? She understood that it meant she belongs somewhere in this world. But it wasn't the leaf that saved her. In fact, where was Fukushi from? He certainly did not have any village markings. Did that make him a rogue? No nukenin were egotistical and tended to labour the fact they reject their homeland. This man gave the air that he wanted to be forgotten. Why would anyone want that? He would save her and not take any credit for it but instead vanish into the shadows? She sighed and a tear rolled down her cheek and it splashed on her head band. She was scared. She didn't know how she should feel but she felt alone all of a sudden

"Fukushi?" She listened and for a moment, there was only silence, even nature took a breath for a moment.

"Oh, you're awake?" Fukushi's voice called from above. He jumped down from the top of the tree and landed with a quiet thud. "You want to head over the ridge there. If you can stand you can walk." He pointed in a direction to his left and proceeded to turn around and walk away.

"Wait please, don't go!" Monica called out, her voice betraying her fear as it cracked and wobbled.

"You'll be fine, if there was anyone nearby they would have attacked us by now." He looked over her shoulder to see Monica limp towards him, not fully healed, but still trying to catch up despite her injury.

"No, you don't, I don't want to, can I?"

"Can you what?" Fukushi sighed.

"Can I stay with you? I don't want to go back!" He noticed tears in her eyes, while he remained unmoved.

"Don't take your home for granted, Go back." He snapped and turning around to face her, no emotion in his face almost like he was bored or only half present.

"At least train me!" Monica practically shouted at Fukushi. But then mumbled her next words. "At least I could bring something back."

"Why would you want that? Don't you have teachers to do that for you?"

"Yes, but i want to be better, be stronger. So this never happens again."

He remained silent and he turned away and started moving away. Monica felt utterly abandoned, heart sinking. She didn't know what to do and tears streamed down her cheeks. For the first time someone gave enough of a damn to risk their life for her sake and now he was just going to leave her like this. She wanted to find out about him. See thought if he could teach her how he was so strong. Or at least get him some sort or reward for her rescue once the two of them return to the village. Just anything but be alone right now.

"Come. I'll get you started, but that's it!" Monica stared, shocked but obeyed his words. Almost in a trance she approached him and as she tried to catch up. Some small voice said it was alright to drop her identity, for a while at least. Perhaps by doing so she could understand why he chose to be forgotten. If he could have strength to fight so well without anyone then could she do the same? Her headband clattered to the floor. The symbol of her village watched as she walked away.


	3. Chapter III V2

**I have decided that if i write more i'll post more. I've written about two chapters in advance, This means if i am a bit busy one week i have content to post anyway so you shouldn't have to wait forever for new content. But seeing as i have written loads yesterday, here's another chapter :)**

 **Disclaimer: I still don't own anything**

 **Second edition: been improving writing, trying to sort out who I want the characters to be. Usual. Also, do you get alerts when a chapter is updated?**

The pair walked together through the forest. Monica managing to keep up with her limp. She wished she know some sort of medical jutsu but at least she was not in pain, just uncomfortable, the green sticky medicine was irritating her wound and it took a lot of energy to keep herself from scratching. Fukushi, on the other hand, seemed to be exorcising extreme patience with her. He gave her a hand when she needed it and rested when she stumbled on her leg. But the two remained silent even when they entered a small village. The village was nothing special, a cluster of houses which occupied a segment of road, presumably surrounding the tavern which attracted business with its usual methods. The buildings where all made of wood and were kept in a good condition with the plaster still a clean white. Monica noticed the villagers giving them worried looks. Some even hid within their houses, others whispered curses and protections.

"Why are they staring?" Monica asked, keeping to a whisper.

"Here I am called a demon. News of my attacks have reached people in the area and they don't know what to think. But what stuck was a cursed demon roamed the mountains." He signalled at his appearance, his tattoos were making it clear he was different from everyone else. Monica swore he glanced down in sadness at the thought.

"Does it bother you?"

"I don't care what they think." He snapped with a sharp tongue. "Not like they could change anything nor could I change their opinions."

The two shinobi walked on in silence until they approached a tailors shop. They entered the building where stacks of coloured cloth and clothes stood in piles and on shelves. Thread and sewing equipment filled the tables and even some offcuts littered the wooden floor. The shop keep was a large man who looked bored right until he saw who entered his shop and stood to attention, fully alert and seemed to be expecting something to go horribly wrong. Sweat already running down his face, he swallowed and as polite as he could.

"Demon. W-what c-could I do for…." Fukushi shot him a look and glared the man down. He proceeded with some jutsu hand signals. Monica watched and realised she did not recognise most of the signs, she knew that jutsu was based on twelve signs and certain combinations moulded chakra to a desired effect. Fukushi held his left hand flat and a banner of yellow writing and patters shone brightly, as if each line was in a race to get as far away from Fukushi as it could. Then in a small puff of smoke a bag appeared. The shop keep sighed in relief but Monica was enthralled by the jutsu she never seen before.

"I want a cloak and a couple items of clothes for the lady."

"R-right I know just the thing." Confidence regaining as he realised that he was not in danger. He paused to take a few deep breaths to try and calm down. He helped Monica pick out her clothes, she had gone for light grey cloak, a tan coloured coat which resembled the clothes that were destroyed, and a belt which gave her gear the impression she worse a skirt. The orange haired-kunoichi quickly rushed around to the back of the shop to get dressed while Fukushi paid. She returned with her arms covered by the cloak, and her hood down to reveal her dirty orange hair. She had been messing around with her hair to try and cover her scar up but not matter how she fiddled on with it the scar would be visible to the world as she was cut in front of her ear. He glanced at her with his right eye then turned to leave. She followed, feeling a bit more secure with clothes on even if her outwardly appearance had not changed.

As they were walking out, Fukushi was tying up his cloak that Monica had returned. It neatly hid his arms and weapons from sight, presumably that was the point of the cloak. Monica was lost in thought about what she could be learning with Fukushi she was amazed at the new hand signals and couldn't wait to try it herself, she felt she could have a unique edge if she was to return to Konoha. Then she realised what she also saw.

"Fukushi, could I see your left hand?"

"Hrm, so you've noticed." He flashed his right hand and show Monica his hand long enough for her to have a good look before he covered it again. His hand wasn't disfigured but the black tattoos which encircled his fingers and wrist showed dark red skin. Like it had been intensely burned but the skin didn't fall off the flesh. They were chakra burns.

"What happened to you?"

"Not something you should know." He looked away, Monica was trying to piece together what happened to her saviour. He was physically damaged and carried the injuries to prove it but his cold voice made her think about what he was like on the inside. His voice cracked as if his throat was dusty from lack of use, he avoided the looks from other almost as if he was in shame for even being existing. Monica knew one thing though, he was a demon through renown not through character. His kindness to help her proved as such.

They walked silently towards a blacksmith selling a wide range of weaponry which were all on display, large weapons and tools to the back while projectiles and jewellery were to the front of the wall-less building. Fukushi spoke again. "I need to know what your weapon type is, and how good you are. Pick one up and attack me. Don't worry about people watching, it's not their business." He walked up to the blacksmith and asked him if he could test his equipment, he spoke only a few words and pointed with his right hand at a few things then to Monica. After a nod and handing over some more money, he gestured for Monica to enter the shop.

Monica looked around the shop for weaponry. She took herself to the kunai section because that was the only weapon she had any skill in, Konoha was very limited in kenjutsu and often focused on small arms, projectiles and ninjutsu. She took the cold blade and turned to find Fukushi who was standing outside waiting for her. Monica walked out of the blacksmith and readied her hand.

"No ninjutsu, and stop once blood is drawn. Those are the rules but start when you are ready."

The two opponents faced each other. Fukushi didn't draw his Katana as Monica expected instead he flicked his cloak back and raised his hands in anticipation to her attack. She leaped forward as fast as she could. Her Kunai swing from right to left aiming to get his chest. Fukushi dodged the blade so Monica swung a second time. This time Fukushi swiped her arm further than she had intended and left her wide open. With his right palm, he struck her in the chest not caring about where he struck. He immediately followed up with a round-house kick to her stomach which knocked her across the street.

Monica felt dizzy, her mind was filled with laughter, she could even hear some people in the growing audience snigger at how easily she was kicked down. She closed her eyes, laughing continued, she was waiting to hear Fukushi to laugh too, join in as if she was a big joke. No, she dared him to laugh. She wanted to be filled with anger and strike him and his smug face just to prove that she was capable.

"You aren't thinking ahead that's your problem. That and you may want a weapon with more reach than a kunai." She opened her eyes. To look up at him. He was standing, no emotion in his eye but no mocking either. To him it did not matter if she was struck down. Monica took a deep breath and the laughter died down as she stood. The world stopped mattering to Monica as she concentrated on Fukushi. The laughter became quieter until they no longer distracted her. She readied her feet but waited for Fukushi to go on the attack. He got the invitation and charged. Instead of lashing out she dodged to the side and with good timing. He punched the space where her head was a moment ago. He followed up with a spin and a kick which painfully collided with her hand holding her kunai. However, she took the opportunity to strike him in the cheek with her left fist. Fukushi flipped back and gave the fight some distance. Monica ran at him and began a series of slashes to which he parried each one by swatting her wrists away. Monica allowed him to concentrate on her blade. He swiped at her legs but she jumped over him. Unfortunately, he used his momentum to continue his kick and hooked her middle where her scar was just before she could hit the ground and caused her to fly across the street in agony. As she flew she threw her kunai at Fukushi, forgetting this was a friendly sparring match. Fukushi was surprised by the attack but knocked it away with a kunai he seemingly pulled from thin air. Her kunai spun lazily in the hair before digging itself into the cobbled street.

Laying on the ground she expected the laughing to return. She had failed again, on the floor and pain flowed from her wound from last night. She strained just to hear one giggle but all she got was silence. She looked around. The citizens watching were all surprised at the skirmish they just saw; impressed even. Fukushi walked up to her and offered a hand to help her to her feet.

"I think I was wrong, you lack confidence. See how much you've improved in one fight? Although maybe get something longer than a kunai, a Wakizashi maybe. You get close but not close enough and a wakizashi is similar to a katana so I can give you a few tips that I've picked up."

He pulled her up and she followed him to the blacksmith to purchase the weapon. Monica thought to herself, was that it? Confidence?

"I've got business to take care of though. You ought to go home now." Fukushi spoke coldly and made her shiver slightly. The crowed quickly dispersed too after realising they had stopped fighting.

"No, I want to stay, you know so much and I haven't repaid you for saving my life yesterday."

"What are you scared of?"

"What do you mean?"

"Everyone fears what they don't understand, so are you scared of me? If I come after you? Or what would your village and family say when they find out? I know enough that shinobi here take loyalty very seriously. You aren't being pushed away from me you're being pulled towards me, so what is it?"

"I-I Don't understand? If you were so bad you wouldn't have saved me."

"And yet I killed five people in doing so. And I'll be killing more soon, you don't want to be associated with me, trust me on that one."

She was taken back by his honesty, she hadn't thought of it like that. Monica only focused on that she was rescued by him. Fukushi continued.

"If you don't leave you'll be dragged into this and then you won't be able to face home. You will become a person feared not respected and if it's being respected that you want then please, leave."

"I'll do it."

"What?"

"I want to repay you, I _need_ to repay you, I'll kill if it means you feel like your actions were worth it. If saving my life was worth it." Tears ran down her cheaks, her heart was racing and she was searching his face for any kind of emotion instead of that dark purple eye looking over his shoulder. "If you won't let me stay then please…. Kill me." He turned to her and giving her full attention.

"Don't throw your…"

"No! I can't go back now, I can't stand their laughing their teasing, their voices. I'd rather die than go back. You saved my life so it should be you… you to kill me, as if you never found me."

He didn't reply but instead of showing her that she had struck a chord, he swallowed hard and looked away from her gaze.

"You won't be able to go back, it'll be a lonely life because everyone will grow to hate you. Fear, jealousy, love and maybe obsession. No matter what you do that is what people will think. How could I willingly put you through all that? especially when the option to leave is right there."

"You chose to give me a choice, and I've decided to repay you for granting me that choice." She spoke with her voice wavering she was so unsure what is going to happen and the thought alone made her heart race and her head spin. Fukushi took a deep breath and quickly spun around. Drawing his katana from his side as he moved and in a flash as fast as lightning he had the blade tip pressing against her neck but not so it cut her skin. Monica realised what he was trying to do. He was uncharacteristically searching her features for a moment of doubt, looking like he was waging war with himself

"Y-you are just as scared and unsure as me aren't you Fukushi?" She whispered

Monica took a step forward, only moving away to stop the point from cutting. The edge of the katana sliced the side of her neck without any resistance and blood welled up from the wound. She hoped this was proof enough of her resolve. Even though he could tell she was terrified of the future. The one eyed shinobi just silently nodded. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't bring himself to outright refuse her.

She followed him to the next village over and reached a sake bar just as evening began to fall. The village looked more like the same village only the buildings were shifted around, if fact the close proximity of the two villages gave the impression they were probably part of the same village. The only main difference here was the construction work going on, around half the buildings were incomplete and had scaffolding surrounding all of the walls. She had been missing for a day now. She was nervous but the sting in her neck reminded her of new opportunities to become a better shinobi. She owed him her life but she still wanted to learn his unique jutsu and she told herself that learning would make the venture worth while.

"Erm Fukushi, I'm not old enough to drink." She blushed and mumbled her words before they got too close to the sake bar.

"You're eighteen now. No one cares how old you are just act the part. I don't care if you like it or not but this is the start of not going back." He spoke coldly

"Alright, I'll do it."

"What? did you think I meant fighting earlier? No there's things you need to do and they need you to be an adult about it."

She blushed brighter as she never had tasted sake. She could already feel the innocence being stripped away as she remembered the three shinobi forbidden inhibitions, Gambling, Alcohol, and Sex. Although, she felt killing should at least be added to that list. Once they were at the door she could hear people drunkenly shouting from inside. She paused and blushed as she entered the bar which gave the impression that she was very shy to any onlookers. She followed Fukushi to the barkeep who was laying out some bottles of sake behind the counter. He looked up to see the pair coming in. The barkeep had dark tanned skin and a shaved head with his black shirt and rolled up sleeves he stood to attention.

"I didn't know you travelled with someone, but damn you got lucky with this one. How did she see past your eye I'll never know?" Fukushi just closed his eye in agreement perhaps a shrug but Monica didn't notice.

"One day I'll become predicable so you can catch up. Can I have a bottle of sake and two cups, and can I have a look at the special menu?"

"Straight to the point, anything for a friend on a date." He winked at the blushing Monica. She couldn't help it, she wasn't expecting him to be so friendly. He handed Fukushi the menu with a note under it which Monica managed to notice. Followed by a bottle of sake and two shallow cups which were placed on the counter. Monica picked up the drink and cups and mumbled a "Thank you." She was still blushing. She heard him laugh to himself but it did not sound like it was directed at her, which calmed her nerves, after giving a quick shy smile she turned and followed Fukushi to the back-most table. She could feel eyes watching her as she walked down the bar. She didn't feel comfortable after just getting away with underage drinking. Paranoia set in as she feared somehow they knew she was under aged. She sat opposite Fukushi and set out the cups and poured him the drink as he read the note. Monica hesitated but poured herself a drink. A thought crossed her that this would mean she already had a one-up on her peers back at the village, as far as she knew she was the only one to drink in her class.

She brought her cup to her mouth, the smell hit her, and her nose thought this was some sort of bleach. Nevertheless, she pushed herself and took a sip. It tasted… strong, and burned her throat. She closed her eyes to get it over with and drank the contents of her cup. She coughed and felt warm inside her stomach. Once the taste of nail varnish had left her mouth, although she did not mind the afterglow of it and poured out another cup full. By then Fukushi folded up the paper.

"Tomorrow we are seeing a nobleman, if you still want to come, he knows where the last two paces in the Land of Earth where I can find those pages."

"Pages?"

"I'll explain tomorrow, but right now I'd like to see what type of chakra you possess."

"Oh, how do I do that?" The effects of the sake already began to mellow her thoughts but not enough to be distracting, she felt like her head was lighter than usual.

"Follow my signs closely." Fukushi slowly lead her through the sand signs. He chanted out what each sign meant. "Control, Flow, Show, Circle, Glow." Monica didn't recognise half the signals save for the first one, which looked like the 'ram' sign. Once he spoke out the jutsu a bright yellow ball appeared in a puff of smoke, it was round and occasionally sparked harmlessly at the nearest object such as the sake bottle or Fukushi's hand. She looked closer and reached out to touch it. She felt a swirl of wind blow past her fingers.

"It's beautiful."

"This jutsu shows the colour and type of chakra I use. Wind and Lightning, I used to have water but… I lost the knack." He starred into the ball of glowing chakra in a moment of silence as if he was remembering something, he realised he was staring and shook his head. "Let's see yours." The ball puffed again and set his hands in the first hand sign. He led her through each sign until she got it. In a puff of smoke a blue burning ball of fire was floating in front of her. It was no bigger than her fist and if anything smaller than Fukushi's. But her chakra glowed an electric blue, with sapphire coloured flames tossing and turning among themselves.

"Ah fire chakra. You can touch it, it can't hurt anything unless you add a few more signs to it and covert it to something physical." He offered her to touch her chakra incarnate. Monica held her hand up and held the silently burning ball. It felt warm with energy. She let it sink into her hand staring at the dancing blue flames.

"Is that what my chakra looks like?"

"Yeah, it can make a good light source, heat source, and as I said can't be used as a weapon. This is usually the base for most elemental jutsu actually, although there are many exceptions and obviously doesn't work with elements that are not natural to you."

She smiled and redid the jutsu just to make sure she has it right.

"You can also tweak the amount of chakra in each step to change it slightly to suit what you need." Fukushi continued and finally drinking a cupful of sake, followed by two more cup-fills. He stood up and looked down at Monica who was innocently giggling at her blue chakra, the sake taking effect. Monica did not care though, she was entertained with the dancing flames.

"We should go and sleep now." He paused so he had her attention. "I only needed the note and unfortunately we can't stay here. Inns are too much of an easy target."

Monica quickly finished her drink and made sure there wasn't a drop left in the bottle before getting up herself. She was riding the buzz she now had and her vision began to sway, especially when she stood up and blood rushed through her head and caused her drunken state to momentarily increase in severity.

"I'm hungry" She stumbled towards Fukushi who held her so she did not fall. He looked at her then to the Bartender who had heard the drunk girls request and was already rummaging around for food. In a swift minute he put together some bread, rice balls, and fruit. Fukushi paid and thanked the man.

"You two have a good night." The Barkeep smiled in response. Monica giggled to herself at everything she saw before nibbling on some bread. The cool outside air hit them both and forced Monica to sober up; enough to function.

"Oh god, I didn't make a fool out of myself?"

"No, you just got a little giggly, glad you're back though." Monica couldn't tell if he meant it or not because nothing changed in his stone-cold stare. "Might want to get used to drinking if you don't want to get so drunk out of two cups."

"You aren't drunk?"

"No I just drink some to help me sleep sometimes, you know, relax."

Monica sighed, she heard that excuse off her father before. Who wasn't bad but certainly could do with being more caring or at least more interactive with his family, especially at the weekends.

"So where are we going if we can't stay there?"

"Somewhere out in the forest, like last night. Keeps us out of danger while we sleep."

"Wouldn't indoors be safer?"

"You would think that but it's one of the first place assassins look."

"Assassins? Why?"

"Reasons, that and the first one to attack me caught me in an Inn."

"What happened?"

"I killed her, what do you think?"

Monica kept quiet, Fukushi began to sound angrier and she didn't want to push him anymore. Fukushi walked in silence and he was thinking about that night around a month ago. The assassin had seduced him after many drinks and taken him to a room. He let her in and she had sex with him, speaking sweet words of love and companionship into his ear, promises to go with him on adventures and to help him with anything he needed done. Even kill for him. Only to try and catch him while he was vulnerable but thanks to his jutsu expertise he was able to kill her instead despite being unarmed. He later found out she had a nick name 'Succubus' for a reason. How naive he was to think someone would like him just like that. How surprisingly similar this situation was to back then... He shook the thoughts as best as he can. 'It looks like I'll be having nightmares tonight'. With that he sighed heavily. Monica spoke up behind him.

"Sorry for bringing it up."

"You weren't to know. Hmph I guess here is safe enough."

"Should I set a fire up?"

"No. Use the jutsu I taught you, and keep it as dim as possible. We are to sleep invisibly."

Fukushi started planting kunai in a ring around them while Monica began to settle down and trying to get the jutsu right. She stopped to hear Fukushi complete more hand signs but this time she couldn't understand what he was saying.

"What are you doing?"

"It's a jutsu that distorts the air and makes us hard to see, even in daylight. Though we aren't invisible hence why we can't have a light."

"But what were you saying I don't understand."

Fukushi sat down opposite Monica and in the fading gloom. They faced each other. Monica was staring at his single eye and the bandage that covered the other eye. While he was looking down at her feet or close enough anyway.

"Japanese... is my second language."

This created way more questions for Monica than had answered. She wanted to ask him more but she found that he had fallen asleep already. It surprised her because she didn't think he was affected by the sake. She quickly signed for her chakra light which she admitted was very useful. She used it to find the wrapped-up food and digging in to a rice ball with a plum in the middle. As she ate her meal she watched the flames dance over in front of her, she thought the blue light was so beautiful. By now she had worked out how to dim and bring the ball closer to her. She held it in her hands and cuddled it for warmth before she fell asleep.


	4. Chapter IV V2

**Posting a relatively short chapter, Next one is longer, already written and waiting for editing. I have a wee busy period coming up so i'll post the next chapter mid next week so you wouldn't have to wait for a century for more content (unless (and probably will) I procrastinate revision with writing).**

 **Thanks to NarHina for pointing out that i'm an idiot and i forgot to add character tags, they should be added by now with the four main characters including the pairing (Yes i like the Naruto/Hinata combo and yes it will happen eventually (spoilers)) but you'll have to read on to find out how :)**

 **Still over 200 views despite not filling in the correct information. So thank you for being interested in my story.**

 **Please comment if you enjoy :D feedback is appreciated**

 **Second edition: again more fine tuning the story**

 **Present day**

Naruto had woken up to Shikamaru prodding him. At first gently but with a sigh he ended up punching his shoulder to wake up the blond mess that spread himself over the bed. Naruto stirred.

"What was that for?"

"Get up Naruto we are leaving soon." Naruto rolled out of bed, literally, he fell to the floor with a thud and sleepily began hopping around getting dressed while groaning and cursing all the way. While Shikamaru calmly set about getting cleaned and dressed, Sighing, and thinking how lazy Naruto still is after everything they have been through. 'This will be a drag'. He thought to himself.

Outside their room on the small corridor that housed the boys' room in between the two flights of stairs. On flight going up to where the girls' slept and the other flight lowered to the lobby room of the hotel. Sakura was walking down the stairs when she caught Hinata staring at the wall with her Byakugan in use and visible on her face. The bluenette did not realise that she was caught but instead continued to stare at the wall. When Sakura made her presence noticed she was smiling until she realised exactly what Hinata was trying to do.

"Hinata what are you doing." Sakura blushed, Hinata spun around also blushing and spoke in a high-pitched, squeaky voice.

"I err was, seeing if the boys urm w-were awake?"

Sakura sighed and walked passed Hinata to get downstairs. As she passed she spoke.

"I don't know who's worse, you or Naruto." She gave Hinata a smirk then left her. Hinata quickly decided being caught once was enough and followed Sakura to wait for the boys.

After a few minutes, everyone in the squad was downstairs and eating a small breakfast of toast while Shikamaru was looking up a map of the area he was given. The café area was quiet as would be expected this early in the morning with wooden stools still on top of most of the tables. The only other person awake was a young man, only somewhat older than the ninja present was cleaning up the kitchen which was separated by a wall and a open door to the dining hall.

"One hour run I think, and we will be there."

"Why in such a rush Shikamaru?" Naruto replied sleepily as he was still waking up.

"I don't like this, I've been trying to figure out why these attacks are occurring. What's new and what's old. Maybe I might know more if I could find out what was this paper that Fritushi mentioned. But to do that we need to hurry, if this guy can kill ANBU. Then he is clearly knows what he is doing and is a threat, I have a feeling unless the pages were on the noble when he was attacked, his home would be hit next, although why it hasn't already I don't know... urg such a drag."

With the dark undertone added to breakfast the four shinobi finished up in silence and headed to the main gate and headed back down to the valley below, most of the valley was coated in pine trees but it was obvious where the main road lay, a barren streak of path cut the valley in two and lead off further and further into the mountains. Once, perhaps, the hidden villages were true to their name but now it was common knowledge where they all are. Unless they were new hidden villages but with the many spy networks each village had, their secret couldn't be kept for long. With a Nod from Shikamaru the four ninja sped off to the west using the pine trees to the best of their ability. Once they had climbed a pass between two mountains and looked down the next valley over they paused.

"Is that smoke?" Sakura asked

"Byakugan!" Hinata called as she concentrated ahead. "I can see a few survivors we should hurry."

"Naruto send a clone back to warn the Tsuchikage that the Fritushi estate was attacked." Shikamaru commanded. He was confused over the delay. It has almost been a week since the ANBU and Chuno Fritushi were killed. So why attack now? He was banking that the attacker had already got what he wanted, blind rage? revenge? Too many unanswered questions.

The shinobi quickened their approach. So fast that to a normal civilian their motion would have gone unnoticed. In no time, they stood in front of the destruction. Both the gateway and the front door were blasted wide open. Guards were scattered around the garden. The four walked in with wide eyes. Bodies were burnt and cut up, sometimes both. The scene was one of total annihilation.

"What the hell happened here?" Naruto called out.

"B-byakugan" Hinata quietly spoke out. She had to force herself to look with her eyes and tried her hardest to keep her stomach down as she scanned around seeing all the empty husks and parts of bodies scattered around, void of chakra. Her initiative prompted Sakura ad Naruto to help find any guards who were still alive although they were already reluctant to search.

"Hey, Kurama, can you help me here? is anyone alive." Naruto whispered to himself, almost as if he was worried his voice would shatter the silence that cloaked the area.

"Hmph it's difficult to tell one from another, the whole estate stinks of death and hate and fear." Kurama replied in a low growl. "Try over there." Naruto instinctively turned to face the palisade walls that supposedly protected the compound from attack. There was a pile of wood which presumably used to be some sort of tower or lookout. It was difficult for Naruto to really know because the pile of wood was damaged beyond recognition.

"Hey guys this one is still conscious." Naruto called out after a few minutes of searching the charred wood. Sakura rushed to him. Shikamaru also approached, slowly, as if the death around him weighed him down. As Shikamaru approached the impaled man looked up at him. He didn't speak because his lungs were punctured by the wooden shrapnel embedded in his chest but he did the best he could to give Shikamaru and unspoken message with his eyes.

"We need a full hospital I-I don't know what I can do? It's too much." Sakura spoke with tears rolling down her eyes as her medical jutsu was proving ineffective to the wound.

"Reinforcements should be coming soon." Naruto confirmed as his clone must have delivered the message, the major benefit to using clones as the ability to retain memories.

"N-Naruto I found someone else, he's hiding around the building." Hinata called out and Naruto along with Shikamaru ran to where Hinata was pointing. The two shinobi moved aside some fallen timber to find a man in a fetal position with his eyes closed and hands covering his ears. The two boys looked at each other as the man rambled on about laughter. Naruto touched the man who immediately screamed causing Naruto to fall back. He looked around terrified that he was found.

"I need you to calm down." Shikamaru said as he squatted down next to the man, but he ignored him.

"T-they're gone, it's day, I lived, why?" He started sobbing into his hands.

"What happened?" Shikamaru repeated.

"The lightning demon attacked. We were no match, why didn't we have any jutsu." The man cried out then suddenly he stopped as if he remembered something. "The laughter. Can't get it out of my head." He drew out a knife and pointed at his stomach. Naruto was forced to jump in and knocked the man out with a swift kick. Normally Shikamaru would have disapproved but judging by what the man was about to do; Naruto probably had the right idea.

"I'm going to find this asshole. He's killed too many people. I need to stop him, we have to stop him."

Shikamaru punched him. "Idiot look around, we still don't know what he can do. Some of these people have not even drawn their weapons before they died. What do you think would happen to us if we were as unprepared as these guards?" Shikamaru stared Naruto down with his frustration reaching its peak. He was about to explode in anger at Naruto when medics from Iwagakure appeared around the corner.

"Did you find any more survivors?" A young woman asked, sounding doubtful that anyone was alive at this point.

"Yeah but we had to knock him out." Naruto replied trying to keep his anger down aswell.

The two Ninja walked back to the entrance with Shikamaru talking. "Look I understand your anger but if we do this wrong we will end up dead. ANBU, shinobi, even unarmed guards are targeted by him so he could attack us at any time just as easily. So please try not to rush into this one. Not until we know what he is capable of."

Sakura was slumped against the remains of the gateway. She had exhausted herself trying to save as many as she could but many of her attempts had failed. Hinata was still directing the new arrivals to any guards still alive. They were few and far between but the kunoichi had to push themselves to the limit, any hesitation and someone else was going to die.

"Shall we search inside to find out who he was targeting." Shikamaru suggested but Naruto was too lost in thought to talk back. They both entered the building. Scorched walls, bloody floors and discarded kunai, shuriken's, and guards. Judging by the weaponry the guards in here at least should have had better training. However, being in an enclosed space did not help these people in the slightest.

After a couple hours spent searching the mansion the shinobi decided to give up on finding anything useful. It was clear the place was turned upside down and even secret compartments was found and ripped out of the walls. The pair sat on the porch to the house to think over the carnage. Dead bodies were being laid out in front of them by the contingent of medics from Iwa, Kurotsuchi was standing in the middle of the medics organising logistics, she was putting on a brave face but to a trained shinobi, it was easy to tell she was worried and shocked over the sheer brutality. After a small chat with Hinata about the guards she turned and approached Naruto and Shikamaru, she was tired and rubbing her eyes to massage the strain from them.

"Six guards survived in the end, out of-f-f one hundred and thirty." She looked down as she gave the news to Naruto and Shikamaru.

"Thank you Hinata you did well, hope your eyes are alright." Naruto spoke and gave a short smile which cheered Hinata up as she returned a smile and gazed up at the blond for a brief moment.

"Did you find anything?" Hinata replied to which both ninja shook their heads.

Shikamaru looked up as something clicked into place. "Hey Sakura?"

"Yeah?" She called over and got up to get closer.

"There were kunai wounds in the victims yeah?"

Sakura looked down at her feet. "In around half of them yes."

"Where are they all? If the killer cleaned up after himself he hadn't done a very good job of it. But for this many bodies he must have brought a whole cart of them" The team looked out on the destruction before them.

"Some sort of jutsu?" Hinata thought out loud while looking at her hands. "My gentile fist may not penetrate the skin but maybe he uses something similar that does leave a physical wound, like a chidori."

"Good point Hmm." Shikamaru replied. "We may not be facing anyone visibly armed which is why he is difficult to find. Become fast enough and leave nothing behind means you don't have to be stealthy, just quick. Now why take such a long wait between attacking..."

"Intel?" Sakura added.

"Maybe but it doesn't feel right, if he was targeting Fritushi then I'd imagine knowing about this place would be pretty basic." Shikamaru responded to Sakura.

"Training?" Naruto suggested. "Although, didn't that guy say something about the lightning demon?"

Shikamaru smiled. "Storms, that's how he manages not to attract immediate attention. No one afar would notice lightning in a storm."

"Do you think we can get any more information out of this place?" Sakura spoke while looking around "I don't want to be here any longer than necessary."

Naruto and Hinata both nodded in agreement. The air was stale with death, although no longer silent thanks to the Iwa medics being present, still it was stale and the team wanted to leave as if to catch some fresh air.

"We should be on the look out for someone using chakra based weapons and only during a storm." Shikamaru added and began to walk out of the estate. The rest of his team followed glad to leave such devastation.

As the team walked away from the estate with the evening sky fast approaching; ending up in the shadow of the nearby mountains. When a large crack was heard followed by several other cracks, and echoed throughout the forest. The four ninja jumped in fright and immediately drew their weapons.

"Came from this way." Naruto shouted as he saw the flash of lightning, it was distant and lasted only for a split second but nevertheless unusual. Lightning doesn't usually strike once while there were no other clouds or explanations to cover for the strike. Given what Shikamaru just had discussed there could only be one reason for such an oddity. The team nodded to each other, they channelled chakra into their legs and started to run as fast as possible to where the lightning struck. Naruto, as well as the others, were all thinking that they were close to the killer; because so far only one person they know could use lightning in such a way.

Within ten minutes of fast tracking through the forest they reached a road and stopped before revealing themselves. From the protection of the trees they saw Yonoaka laying on his back. His great sword, equally as impressive as the man himself, had been planted deep into the earth. The team's eyes widened as the realised Yonoaka was lying in a pool of his blood with numerous cuts and burns adorning his body. The four ninja descended to get a better look. Naruto and Hinata on the lookout for anyone nearby. Sakura checked the body while Shikamaru noticed that this was more of a struggle than all the guards at the estate put together. Trees had been felled and creators damaged the road.

"See anything? Anyone?" Shikamaru commanded.

"No one standing out." Hinata confirmed with her Byakugan.

"Damn it we were too late. Shit, we are still too many steps behind." Naruto shouted in Anger, clenching his hands into a tight fist out of frustration. He had seen enough dead in one day.

"I found a note, Shikamaru, I think he found out something before he died." Sakura handed Shikimaru the blood-stained note.


	5. Chapter V

**Excuse the last few days of not posting. I have a busy week up ahead but once it's over i'll start posting at a faster rate. I don't know whats considered a normal pace for fan-fiction. Although i have about 4000 words written in addition to this chapter. So please message me if you want it published sooner rather than later.**

 **All reviews and messages are welcome :)**

 **Yonoaka's Perpective, the morning before his death.**

Yonoaka had been spending the best part of the night before going from village to village to have a 'drink' and listen to the local's conversations to see if they knew anything or had seen anything. He had overheard about the ever increasingly popular legend of the Lightning Demon and how after a storm has brewed over the land; fresh victims are left in its wake. He knew the 'Lightning Demon' was merely a mortal man made of flesh and blood. On the contrary the stories he has heard just by walking around made him feel like a curse on the land where those who have done wrong will soon have their soul consumed by an otherworldly demon.

Yonoaka smiled into his drink as he was starting to enjoy the creativity in the tales of people trying to impress one another as they drank into the night. He was about to call it a night when a young girl of about mid-twenties approached him.

"Hey are you a ninja?" she said with concern and worry in her voice.

"I am, is there anything you need?" He spoke in a deep voice but one of care which comforted her nerves.

"There's a storm out, I-I think something bad will happen tonight. I've heard rumors that people have seen him walk in the forests nearby, could you please keep us safe?"

The man smiled. "He's a person just like you and me, we are working to catch whoever this demon is."

"I know just, he killed my father. I know he wasn't a great man but he never deserved death. I miss him so much, but, what if the demon comes after me?" She looked genuinely worried for her safety, not looking Yonoaka directly in the eyes as she spoke.

"Humour me for a minute if you could, but you mentioned storms, why is this a part of the whole demon tale?" She looked at him for once and gave a quick thought before she replied.

"Well it was a storm on the night my father never returned, and it's been happening for the past couple of months. I've heard that this is the only time he kills."

"He won't attack here, if he knew I was coming he ought to be leaving in fear of his life."

"How so Mister?"

"It's Yonoaka, and I fought in the great war, I have special tracking abilities. He can't hide for long." He smiled and tapped his nose as if to say he could smell his pray.

"You fought? Wow! I've heard about many war shinobi but I'm honoured to meet you."

"Like-wise, well thank you for talking to me. I am just on my way out."

"Oh, you can stay here, my boss has plenty of rooms."

"That's quite fine, you've given me an idea how to find him anyway."

"How so Mister? But please be careful."

"I have a feeling him using the storms is not a coincidence." She looked at him as if to say 'you really aren't going to find him'. "Don't worry I've faced scarier men than this, 'demon'." He stood up to leave the bar he looked over his shoulder at the young lady. "I'll avenge your father if that was what you were asking."

She smiled and a tear fell down her cheek. He may have been a big man but he liked the idea of being someone's saviour. Almost inspired solely by Naruto who had saved his life during the war but he doubted someone so young should or even ought to remember it. Once he exited the building he stopped to light a large cigar and he watched the swirl of smoke in the air before the breeze took it away into the night. He took a deep breath in before he smiled again. Feeling a wave of chakra in the air. Which gave away the fake storm brewing.

"He's close." Yonoaka spoke out loud to himself. He waited to finish his cigar before running over the rooftops of the village. He looked and acted like a bloodhound with steam pouring out of his mouth as the temperature fell. He felt the first few drops of rain splashoff his exposed skin. Each drop falling more and more frequently until rain had fully set in. He could feel how unnatural this storm felt and the chakra which fell along with the rain. His ability to feel radiant chakra from performed jitsu allowed him to become an effective shinobi hunter. So long as they used jitsu he could sense where it was performed last. He knew why he came alone, because only one was needed for his hunt.

The large warrior jumped down into a clearing where the jitsu felt the strongest. This was exactly what he needed, the jitsu itself. He thought 'checkmate' as he performed a string of hand signs.

"Subete Mimasu no Jitsu" He announced to himself. His speciality, other than feeling chakra, was he could hone in on the user if he had a strong enough imprint of his chakra to read off. This allowed him to see exactly where his target was at all times until he died and no more of his chakra existed or the jitsu was performed again on a different target.

He looked around where he was standing. "Hmm this is an unusual jitsu, so he has unique tricks up his sleeve." He was describing a circle of chakra with many intricate patterns and five kunai which seemed to be a part of the circle. "So this is how he is always able to fight in a storm. I wonder if he is sadistic enough to be the one who created the legend." Yonoaka looked around and he saw the orange glow of is prey's chakra. Spread out where he had been fighting. After disabling his Subete Mimasu, Yonoaka vanished into the forest while the morning sky brightened and rain poured continuously on the Land of Earth.

He had reached the estate far too late to save the guards. He sat from the tree tops and watched the blue fires burn away. The place looked spectral as the blue fire illuminated the bodies and thrashed about as if their souls were trapped in the heat. In silence, he watched and felt the heat from his hiding spot. A fierce heat full of anger and rage. His eyes widened in intrigue as he saw two figures calmly walking out of the building. The flames licked around them but one of them had their hands in a sign and forced the fire to keep away. Once they had left the blue flames died down at the command of one of the people who stood at the entrance to the house. The rain beating down and dealing with the real fires. Yonoaka watched as the other figure who wasn't controlling the fire performed some hand signals and a yellow banner appeared in-between his hands. In the smoke a large book appeared and the caster grabbed it. The watching shinobi smiled knowingly as he had found his target and laughably easily. How could someone be so careless? He clearly had poor training no matter how exotic his jitsu looked. The figure inserted a piece of paper in the book before returning it within his jitsu.

The hunter dropped down to the forest floor. For such a large man, he may as well have been a feather with all the noise he made. His silence was what made him so dangerous. A shinobi was often either weak and must rely on stealth to be effective or strong and handle the assault. Yonoaka soon sneaked silently up on the pair within listening distance. The real game to him began as he listened to their plans.

"You've really gone overboard with that fire." His pray spoke.

"I'm sorry, alright? I got nervous and lost a bit of control." The second figure spoke. She put her hood up but Yonoaka managed to see her orange, messy hair like hay and reaching her neck.

"No need to be sorry. You didn't burn the page so i don't mind."

"Is this the last one in the land of Earth?" The female asked.

"One more in this place, but most dangerous. We must move fast though. If he was right, then killing the ANBU has made the great villages notice. Are you still sure you want to help me?"

"Of-course silly, I've never felt so alive as I do right now, I did say I'd do anything." She quickly turned and with her arms outstretched like she was proud of the destruction.

"Just, don't regret it." The man waited for her to catch up but other than that he never appeared to express his body language under his cloak. They both turned away from the fire and began walking away from the destruction they had caused.

The female companion spoke more. "I think I know where I went wrong and set fire to everything. It's pronounced 'dis' and it's like you push your chakra out."

"Sounds right."

"So if I go over bored at that point with my chakra I set fire to everything."

The target looked over his shoulder. "I think you're right. Although maybe ease up on the size, you shouldn't waste chakra on overkill." She giggled and skipped ahead by a few paces.

"There was only a hundred of them. Soooo... Where to next?"

"We need to get cleaned up and rested Monica. Then we can tackle Iwagakure."

Yonoaka continued to follow within hearing distance. He wanted to learn as much as possible about his pray. He knew he had orders to not kill his target but after all his research he felt lethal force would be the only way to catch him. He stalked for several hours of watching. He noticed they were heading to the natural hot springs within the area. Yonoaka had been convinced the pair had given him all the information he needed and nothing new was going to be told so he set about laying his trap ahead of them.

He was hoping to catch them both in a gen jitsu. While he kept an eye on them with his Subete Mimasu to make sure his pray was still walking into his web. He used the hidden mist technique to bring about a thickening mist which slowly rolled down the mountain. He smiled as his plan came together. He waited for them to approach, Mist had darkened the area to a thick musk. Yonoaka slowly walked up towards his pray and once within range he wove his hands to cast the gen jitsu on the two infront.

The female stopped abruptly as the gen jitsu took a hold. However, his target did something strange. Instead of stopping as the cloaked woman did; he grunted in agony and clutched his right side as he fell to the floor. After panting and concentrating until the pain wore off, Fukushi stood up and drew his katana and held it in both hands while readying his stance.

'Gen jitsu' Fukushi thought to himself as he looked around the mist, now becoming unnaturally thick to the point he could only just see Monica next to him.

Yonoaka who caused the mist to thicken. He felt the rush of chakra used to break his gen jitsu and so he quickly resorted to plan B.

"So, you are also immune to gen jitsu, you are full of surprises." He called out.

"So what, show yourself, so I can look into your eyes as I kill you."

"Oh now tell me. Where is the fun in showing myself?" Yonoaka taunted.

Fukushi closed his eye to concentrate on using other senses, sight was not going to help him here. He was trying to hear his opponent's attack. Footsteps? No! heartbeat. Fukushi quickly reached behind to parry the rear attack. He turned quickly enough with his eye peering into the mist. He swung right to left and deflected a second attack but the sheer force knocked fukushi back a step. He readied his weapon for the next attack. The tension of the mist causing chills up his spine as he glanced left and right.

The next flurry of blows came from Fukushi's right. Clashing metal ran out with each parry. Yonoaka's great sword moved as fast as Fukushi's katana. After the seventh Parry Yonoaka managed to hit the katana with such force it was thrusted too far to Fukushi's right hand side to block the second attack.

Fukushi summoned a kunai with his right and Yonoaka's secondary weapon clashed harmlessly against it. Fukushi threw his opponent off and flicked the kunai into the mist where Yonoata should have been standing.

"This is better than I could have imagined. Do you have any idea how easy you were to find?"

Fukushi remained silent to follow the voice.

"You left clues everywhere, even the local population could point you out. How you've managed to keep out of the Tsuchikage's eye I have no idea. But you surely don't disappoint when it comes to fighting."

Yonoaka swung his sword but Fukushi ducked and swiped into the missed but missed as Yonoaka dodged his counter and vanished into the mist once more.

"Let's make this official, I'll be telling stories of this duel to everyone I meet."

Fukushi held his katana with his right hand and quickly performed hand signals with his left. Once completed a burst of air shot from Fukushi and the mist was blown away. Once the two warriors became visible to each other. Yonoaka smiled as he got a close-up of his pray. He saw that Fukushi had one eye covered. He saw the cloak was off and the tattooed arm was visible to him. His stance was perfect and his purple eye glared straight at him, unmoved by emotion and his blade remained still as ice in the air.

"I am Yonoaka of the Mist."

Fukushi gave a faint smiled in appreciation for his formality, breaking his stoic face.

"I am Fukushi of the Solaris Family; may my ancestors witness this fight and glory to the victor."

"You know how to flatter me, Fukushi."

Both men ran at each other with blades clashing over and over. However, Yonoaka struck with such force he was able to rip Fukushi's katana out of his hand. Followed by a kick to Fukushi's stomach just as Fukushi performed a jitsu and struck Yonoaka in his right side and both men blew each other apart and impacted on trees opposite each other. Yonoaka's tree began to collapse from having suffered such punishment. Without any pause he quickly picked up his great sword and threw it across the road. Fukushi jumped at the last moment and landed on the flat of the sword's blade as it dug deep into the tree trunk.

Fukushi had gone on the attack and leaped forward. Signing a jitsu with his left hand and four kunai appeared above his head and shot out at Yonoaka with consecutive bangs. He threw two kunai in retaliation to deflect two blades then he just managed to dodge the other two speeding blades. Both men quickly armed themselves with kunai before they clashed again. Both blocking and swiping each other. Fukushi's advantage was having a more kunai to flick at his opponent while Yonoaka had the strength advantage. Fukushi summoned a second blade at the last minute and while parrying with his right hand he was able to cut into Yonoata's right bicep and cause the great man to cry out in agony and throw Fukushi back; who proceeded to pick up his katana. This gave the Mist shinobi the time needed to dive for his own sword and rip it out of the tree. Despite his wound, he held his great sword in his right hand and readied himself to Fukushi's next attack. In unison both opponents flicked kunai with their left hands.

The kunai missed each other and simultaneously impaled both men. Fukushi was struck in the right shoulder under his collar bone, with such force the blade almost penetrated straight through the younger shinobi. While Yonoaka was struck in his right side. Using his great sword to balance by planting it in the ground. He looked up at the one-eyed opponent who had been staggered by the force of the blade. Fukushi readied himself but gave away his exhaustion by breathing heavily and panting loudly. The one-eyed ninja ran to deal the killing blow, Yonoaka responded by flicking a Johyo which wrapped around Fukushi's legs. Yonoaka's eyes widened as Fukushi was gone in a blinding flash of lightning and the coiled rope fell to the floor. He felt the cold katana impale his heart, he coughed blood and he sank forward and rolled over to his back, right hand still gripping his sword tightly.

Yonoaka with the last of his strength spoke although all he could see were the colours of the world fading away.

"Truly you have brought honour and glory to your family." He spoke quietly and slowly but Fukushi allowed him to finish his last words with a big grin on his face, Yonoaka now was simply waiting for death to finally take his life.

"I hope you see them, I doubt I'll ever get the chance, not where I am going." The victor stood over the body. Fukushi felt a sting of guilt followed by sadness. He knew what he was and it was far too late to turn back.

"W-what happened Fukushi, you're hurt! Are you ok?" A female voice cried out as the gen jitsu wore off.

"Yeah, I've, Use too much, Chakra." Fukushi managed to reply but the duel had taken too much of a toll.

Yonoata no longer could hear the mortal world, the voices of his pray grew to a peaceful silence. With great effort, the dying man reached into his breast pocket and retrieved a pen with a note paper and jotted down the following.

'There is two of them. Partner is a red-head'

'They plan to attack Iwagkure soon'

'Their target is a valuable page kept there'

'Fukushi is injured'

The great warrior closed his eyes and fell away from this world. The last of the mist cleared to allow the last of the day's sun to illuminate the warriors final resting place. Only to be discovered by the Leaf ninja an hour later.


	6. Chapter VI

**Busy Period over, so i'll start writing faster and get more posted. Comments and reviews are always welcome.**

 **Back to the Leaf Shinobi's Perspective.**

"Hinata, look for two people not one." Shikamaru looked up from the note. "There's two confirmed now." He stood up and closed his eyes whilst putting his hands together out of habit. He had the impression that there was one man causing the killings, would a second make a difference? What if it was something new? Something old? Shikamaru thought but nothing was fitting to place for him. Nothing to tell him _who_ was this killer.

"N-Naruto, could you lend me some of your chakra? I might be able to see further." Hinata spoke quietly, she couldn't see anyone separated and she could see the closest hamlet which had too many people to be their target. Naruto snapped out of his trance. The blonde had been lost in his anger as another victim had been found and no one to answer to these crimes. However, he smiled, approached Hinata and offered her his hand. She blushed but took a hold of it and could feel the warmth of Naruto's chakra flowing within her and this made her focus sharpen and her fatigue fade.

Sakura blushed when she sneaked a glance over at the two ninja as she checked over the cadaver. She had begun to miss Sasuke once again after he left on a journey of self-reflection over a year ago. The growing couple in front of her made Sakura yearn for Sasuke to return for her. Lord knows shes waited long enough.

"There I think I see them, thirteen kilometres away." Hinata confirmed up the road and away from Iwagakure. Naruto grinned as he helped her and with a parting squeeze on each other's hands they turned to Shikamaru to see what he has to say.

"Could you see if they were depleted of chakra?" Shikamaru thought outloud

"N-no I can't tell and details from this distance but one was leaning against the other."

"One was injured, that's our target. Alright, we don't engage first of foremost" He glared directly at Naruto where he knew how he felt about the killings. Naruto squeezed his fists tighter at the thought of being so close to him, and he was injured, so he could make them pay. "We have to assume his partner is equally as dangerous so we must tread lightly, keep a distance and Sakura with myself will approach as close as possible to see if we can find out more about their plans. Naruto and Hinata keep your distance and analyse their chakra as best as you can. Any questions?" The three teammates shook their heads, Shikamaru's plan was simple but it would mean they had more information to present to the Tsuchikage.

The four shinobi began to rush from branch to branch. They kept at a speed which allowed for minimum noise so they covered thirteen kilometres slower than they had been doing so all day. The Summer's evening sky shone in pale oranges and blue above them as the mountainous temperatures began to drop causing their breaths to smoke out of their mouths as they gracefully leaped from tree to tree.

They stopped well out of hearing range and immediately Sakura and Shikimaru left to slowly approach the pair up ahead. Leaving Naruto and Hinata in their hiding spot up a tree.

"Are we in range to get a good view of him Hinata?"

"Yes, this should be fine." Hinata smiled she had been spending the past two years getting used to Naruto being near-by, mostly with the help of her friends but lately it's becoming second nature to her. She then looked down the road and whispered "Byakugan."

"What can you see?"

"The injured one… that can't be right?"

"What did you see?" Hinata looked intensely for a few moments making sure she was seeing correctly. When Hinata gazed at the chakra network and she noticed on his left hand his chakra was slowly dripping out and fizzing on the ground. It was like his chakra network had somehow been slit open on his fingers to allow a steady flow to escape his body.

"By the looks of it he was injured on his right shoulder… but his left hand, I can see his chakra dripping as if he was bleeding chakra." Hinata spoke confused. "Only that can't be right, when a chakra pathway is damaged no chakra flows."

"So his left hand is injured?" Naruto managed to follow and picture what Hinata was seeing.

"In a way but nothing like I've seen, though I wonder if anyone has heard of it?"

A Soft growl from within Naruto spoke out "Would it help if I told you he feels cold? If Naruto would switch to Kyubi-mode, he would feel it too." Kurama spoke from within so Hinata could hear. Kurama and Hinata had become comfortable enough to speak to each other, but only when no one else was present. He wouldn't admit to liking the girl, but Naruto's thoughts and feelings have spread their influence to the Beast's own mind. Naruto was still pretty clueless over her desire to be even closer. If her recent attempts were to show anything, it would have been Hinata wishing to become intimate to Naruto. Needless to say he became entertained as the two were too shy to make a solid move. So why stop the fun by tell Naruto about Hinata's true feelings? His other reason, again never to be admitted, was he was impressed with the girl. Her kekkei genkai, her ability to become stronger (He lost the self imposed bet that she would be long since dead) In addition, and probably the most important reason for Kurama, was Hinata was the second human to accept him fully. When she had the opportunity to speak with Kurama, she spoke truthfully and without fear.

Naruto concentrated for a moment and the glowing orange façade glowed as he switched his chakra to use Kyubi. He felt the glow of emotions from everyone around him, Hinata revealed an aura of love and admiration. Sakura and Shikamaru showed anxiety and frustration, Sakura fearing more than Shikamaru. The uninjured partner was showing extreme fear, the kind of fear where you were expecting the whole world to collapse in on itself. Naruto looked towards their target, he saw what Kurama had meant. There was an aura of cold, as if his presence cooled the area around him physically.

"He looks like an ANBU with your chakra Kurama." Naruto spoke so Hinata understood.

"Thinking about his leaking chakra, Hinata, the only thing I can think of is if some jitsu is forcing his chakra nodes on his finger open. But I am not sure how or why. Might explain it though." Kurama spoke in a low tone so only the pair of ninja could possibly hear him.

Before they could continue to think, Hinata noticed the pair of killers stop and the injured one slumps to a nearby tree stump.

"Something is happening." She whispered and the three of them watched whilst ready to defend Sakura and Shikamaru.

 **Meanwhile on the ground.**

The two stalking shinobi snuck in the undergrowth. Their professional silence made sure that even with highly acute hearing they were nigh on impossible to hear. They managed to get close enough to hear the conversation going on between them. The two figures were both cloaked and facing away with the injured man leaning heavily on his partner.

"I- I need to rest, I've lost too much blood, help me, get."

"I got you, here just sit." Spoke a female voice, Sakura and Shikamaru both looked at each other. They had noticed the injured one still had the kunai deeply embedded just below the collar bone and his clothes were entirely stained red by now.

"I can seal the wound, could you tell me that jitsu I saw you use once? Please, I can do it."

"Ignus." He breathed heavily from exhaustion from the combination of the battle last night, the duel earlier and the wound sapping energy with the blood loss. "Calor." He slowly showed the second hand sign. "Quo." His fingers on his left hand slowed a weak yellow before fading out. The young girl proceeded to copy him and her fingers appeared to catch fire into a bright blue flame. The leaf shinobi watched as she hesitated before gripping onto the kunai blade with her free hand and readying her burning hand to the wound.

"I'm so sorry." The woman spoke softly.

The two peeking shinobi ducked so they didn't see the kunai being pulled out followed immediately by the noise of a loud hiss of boiling blood and flesh as she cauterised the wound. The roar of pure pain would have shaken even the most battle-hardened warriors. Needless to say, the leaf ninja had seen enough and decided to fall back and regroup. As Sakura left she swore she could hear the woman crying to herself for causing such pain to her partner.

The four regrouped and Shikamaru immediately ordered. "We should go and report in, talk about what we found on the way. I doubt those two are in any shape to do anything tonight." He had half expected for Naruto to want to take advantage of this but by the looks of it he had something to say. "Did you find out anything with your Byakugan?" Shikamaru queried.

"Yes, He has erm. To be honest I didn't look at what I was supposed to be looking for." She frowned at failing but maybe if she thought hard enough she could remember more about the pairs' chakra. "Did you see any wounds on his left arm?"

"No, he had it mostly covered why?" Sakura quickly replied as they jumped through the trees.

"His left hand was leaking chakra, I never seen anything like it." Hinata spoke up so the whole group could hear.

"I think I read about chakra pathways leaking in one book once, it happens briefly when a pathway is cut but quickly seals up again." Sakura added, her medical knowledge becoming evident. As the four ninja began to climb up towards the mountain pass.

"Mno, this looked like he was bleeding chakra." Hinata responded.

"Hmph, I think we have enough for one day. We know he has a range of unique jitsu. He is a close ranged fighter and takes speed over stealth. I believe the relationship between the two is a student and teacher one." This made Shikamaru frown, "Which suggests he is willing to teach others and improve his effectiveness, worst case, a group like the Akatsuki." He looked around to make sure everyone was following him. "We know he is injured so we have time, I'm thinking tomorrow we go and find that page he is after. Might be the final clue we need to explain who and why he is attacking Iwagakure." Shikamaru felt more relaxed now he had more information about their target. He even had a 'next step' which should put them ahead of their enemies for once.

Much of the team were exhausted as night fell. They had to report in to the Tsuchikage before they could find sleep in their hotel. Naruto was the only one who wasn't yawning throughout the report. Afterwards, as they entered the Inn, Hinata slumped against Naruto. Sakura smirked as she was sure Hinata did that on purpose. The blonde boy picked her up and carried her to bed; leaving the other two to smile at Hinata's shameless attempt to get closer to Naruto. Hinata was miraculously awake enough to sneak a kiss on Naruto's cheek as he lowered her to the bed. Grinning as he quickly stole a kiss and left the Hyuga heir to her sleep. Sakura was right, Hinata thought, I wonder who is worse. She gave a small squeak in happiness before wriggling into a comfortable position. She was almost there with Naruto she thought as sleep took over her body.


	7. Chapter VII

**Starting to hit a few minor writers block in the plot but i am feeling confident i have it all planned out now. So please read on, over 900 views now. :D**

 **Comments, questions, reviews are all welcome. I am still trying to improve my writing style.**

 **Note added: I've also changed the tags to from tragedy to romance, as my story developed i felt it better described where i am heading.**

 **Fukushi and Monica's perspective.**

Monica had been carrying Fukushi for an hour or so. He was still unconscious from her cauterising his shoulder wound. Her load wasn't heavy and she was surprised because she was expecting his strength to be present in his weight. Nevertheless, she was weary by the time she found the nearby hot springs. The water steamed up into the cool night air and the liquid shone a bright blue illuminating the surrounding ravine which hid the waters. Monica carefully slid Fukushi off her back and leaned him against the rock. She fiddled with a small pouch tied to his belt and retrieved a small jar of healing herbs which he had used on her when they first met, almost a month ago. She smeared the green gel-like substance over his angry looking scar which she had burned. After which she just sat and looked up to the stars and waited.

"Uh how long was I out?"

Monica squeaked with excitement. "Fukushi! You're awake! Uh urm. An hour I think?"

"This is starting to take its toll on me, I hope we can get the last page before things get ugly."

"We will do it, your plan will work." Monica reassured Fukushi who still looked drowsy.

"You can use the pool over there if you like, I won't bother you, too tired." Fukushi muttered as he sluggishly got up to take his cloak off. Monica blushed and walked away behind a large wall of rocks. They both got undressed and once naked they entered their respective pools. Monica dipped her foot into the pale blue waters and realised how warm it felt. The perfect temperature to not scald her but not too cool that her body would climatize in minutes.

Fukushi meanwhile had ungracefully entered and sat by the edge and rested his eyes. His battle earlier had drained him almost completely of chakra. He should have cauterised his injury earlier but he was too concerned about enemy reinforcements to stop the bleeding. He was listening to the quiet trickle of water which refilled the pool and washed away the grime and blood that coated Fukushi's body. He hadn't heard Monica entering his pool until he noticed the silent ripples lapping across his chest. He looked up and before he had a chance to react, Monica lunged at him and wrapped her arms around his neck for support. He was stunned for a moment when he realised she was pressing up against him with her naked body. Her skin felt soft as he quickly gave in to her embrace and with a blink back into reality he looked at Monica, her hair was wet and stuck flat to her scalp in a deep, almost red, colour. He focused his gaze on Monica's eyes which reflected the blue light surrounding them. He didn't dare look any lower in case she took offense so he remained looking up into her eyes.

Monica was blushing as usual but she didn't tremble or find her actions uncomfortable. She gazed into Fukushi's remaining deep purple eye which also glinted blue from the surrounding pool. He still had a ribbon of cloth covering his left eye but it wasn't enough to hide the long scars, one that took his eye and the other to save her life. She gave him a little smile and before the silence of the moment settled she leaned in to his right ear to whisper.

"I think I know how to repay you for saving my life."

She quickly looked back to see his face, he looked curious about her statement. He had his guard down which made Monica confident he was listening to her. She remained focused on Fukushi's face.

"I'm going to stop your suffering. Stop your pain. I can't bear to see you carry on like this anymore." She smiled but her face spoke volumes of how upset she was over him. With a small crack in her voice she continued. "I-In the past month I was with you, I watched as you dragged me through hell. We worked and trained, slept and ate in rain, sleet, wind. Not once you gave a thought for yourself. We've been attacked and we attacked others. You've just ploughed through everything the world has thrown at you. You never complain about the world, and lord knows you've never smiled or enjoyed any of it either." Monica shot her eyes around to pick up on any emotion. He gulped as if forcing sadness down. She noticed a bloody tear meander down Fukushi's cheek by his nose. She rested her head on his chest to feel the slow and rattled breathing and could feel the dull thump of his heartbeat.

"Just now, when I saw you, I didn't see a strong warrior, a powerful shinobi, or a god-like human. You looked exhausted from life as if you were ready to drop off and die. I finally saw the weight of your actions and they are much heavier than you make them out to be. Tell me if I am wrong."

"Sorry." He gulped and sighed. "I shouldn't have allowed you to come with me." Fukushi muttered She could feel his tears slowly drip onto her head, it didn't faze her she knew it could easily be washed away.

"shhhh, no need. I don't regret leaving. I don't regret learning. And I don't regret you."

"But you've lost everything and I've dragged you through hell. How could i forgive myself if something happened?"

"And you were grasping at the last of your humanity. I think I understand now why you allowed me to join." She sighed heavily and with her right hand she traced the intricate black tattoo Which covered half of Fukushi's chest and his entire left arm. She knew better than to ask but she still wanted to look at it. The tattoo on Fukushi's arm had an air of pain about it has he'd always avoid talking about it. Monica had no idea what it meant but as she traced the markings; Monica heard him about to say something but with her reflexes she surprised him with a kiss onto his lips. Fukushi was stunned for sure this time. His eye was wide open as the orange haired girl kissed him with her eyes closed. They enjoyed each other's embrace until the water settled back to the smooth pool it was before. Monica pulled away and with a blush and a giggle as he didn't want to stop.

"Let yourself hope once in a while. I've made my choice." Monica confirmed

Fukushi noticed her breasts and with a blush he looked away. Monica smiled that she finally got him to blush. Her heart skipped a few beats and she felt a few butterflies rush through her stomach.

"Why me?" He mumbled.

"Could have been anyone." Her voice surprisingly cold suddenly. Echoing what he said to her weeks ago. "But you are my saviour and I meant it when I said I'll do anything to return the favour." She whispered her next sentence slowly. "And, I, Will, Do, More." She giggled again and nuzzled her head back onto Fukushi's chest.

Fukushi had his emotions conflicted. He wasn't used to letting anyone get so close to him. He had a voice telling him to accept it, she will help. However, experience was flashing painful memories of betrayal and mistrust. He hadn't internalised his conflict well enough and Monica sighed.

"Hold me if you think I am pretty." A trap which forced Fukushi to make a choice there and then, He wrapped his arms around her back and brought the naked lady closer to him. He could swear he heard her purr in enjoyment. "That was my first kiss, I used it as a promise. So you know I am serious." Fukushi closed his eyes despite past experience screaming in his head. The comfort and warmth eventually dragging him into a deep sleep.

Morning came and Fukushi woke up with a gasp. He had been dreaming again, but his sudden movement brought back a dull aching throughout his body, especially his shoulder. He looked around because he noticed he was alone. A blue flash brought his attention to out of the water and he saw the back of Monica, she was fully naked and Fukushi saw her toned body and stared a little too long at her ass. She was using her fire chakra to quickly dry out all her clothes while Fukushi's had already been dried and folded next to her.

"Like what you see?" She didn't dare turn in case he noticed her bright scarlet face from embarrassment.

Fukushi coughed. "Yeah, you're beautiful." He blushed over his forwardness.

Monica covered herself in her cloak and skipped off to get dressed out of sight. She simply got too nervous to go any further. However once out of view she grinned and felt ecstatic that she could break him out of his shell and last night wasn't just wasted effort.

They both got dressed and Monica was still blushing, Fukushi had left his cloak aside for now and it has been pretty unusual to see him without the well-worn fabric hiding his body. His sleeveless jacket and shirt had many tears in and he really needed to buy new clothes. Fukushi had him arms folded and he had collected himself back into his prior posture. Monica looked back at his left hand which had always looked sore with the dark red bruised hand which never seemed to fade.

"I'm going to need you to stay in the village."

"What? Will you be coming?" Monica looked shocked at his calmness, and after everything she said. Her mouth fell open and she was about to speak.

"Only for a few days, I need you to get that page. You." He looked away and sighed heavily. "You've proved to me that you're willing to help and, with my chakra worsening with each fight, it'll be easier if we split up to get the page. Besides, shouldn't your, urm training? Group be around still. I remember you mentioning it."

Monica frowned but with a quick thought to herself. "Yeah they should be still training."

"Sorry but you'll need to go back to being a leaf ninja for now." Fukushi quickly signed a jitsu and mumbled 'Genus Fulminis: libri' and with a flash and smoke he had summoned some plain scrolls with an ink set. Monica was trying her best with the odd sounding words the Fukushi occasionally spoke. He spoke Japanese fluently to her but she sometimes caught him muttering words she which she had no idea what they meant. Despite this she was starting to link that to his summoning of various objects he seemingly had stored. "OK I just need to remember what the teleporting pentagram looks like and burn it to the scroll then teach you how to store chakra."

"Teleport pentagram? But you can teleport without even needing hand signs." Monica was curios over what was different this time.

"I need a line of sight to safely teleport without hand signs basically. It is possible to end up inside solid objects and ending up killing yourself" Fukushi answered bluntly as he kneeled down while ignoring the ink. His finger on his left hand had begun to glow a golden yellow as he traced out the pentagram. A dark black line, like his tattoos was left in place has he traced out the drawing. "Mmn I'll need a drop of your blood once I'm so you can activate it too."

"Why do I need to activate it? Oh!" Fukushi's plan suddenly clicked in her head. "Whoever gets the pages first, teleports to the scroll. So, if I get it I can summon you?"

"You figured that out quickly." Fukushi teased.

"I said I was weak. Not dumb." She returned with a smirk.

"Anyway, about storing chakra. Unlike objects which can be in a small pocket dimension, chakra has to be in something physical otherwise it'll just dissipate into the air."

"So I still need a scroll for that?"

"Yeah or you can have it burned onto your body like I have."

Monica remembered seeing four identical tattoos down Fukushi's side. She blushed as she remembered she has seen him naked now. However, she hadn't realised they were used for something important until now.

Fukushi thought for a moment. "Scrolls for now, once you get their pattern memorised you can burn them onto yourself if you like."

"Hmm probably the best." Monica mumbled as she was gazing at what Fukushi was drawing, the large pentagram had started taking shape and she thought it looked beautiful with the intricacy of the pattern.

"After I've finished with the teleport scroll I'll show you what the shape for the chakra storage looks like and you can copy it. With ink for now." Fukushi added. He wasn't sure if she was listening or not she just watched him in silence finishing the large scroll. The end result was a large circle about two meters wide with an obvious pentagon in the centre. The space in-between the pentagon and the outer circle had lines, dashes, dots and words filling the space. To one side a branch lead out of more pattern work to a smaller circle with more lines and words fanning out from the smaller circle. In the very centre was a small star with a hollow middle and each point pacing a corner of the pentagon again with more words fanning from it. Fukushi summoned a kunai and cut his right hand thumb and let a drop land in the very centre of the scroll followed by pressing said thumb down on it to leave a thumb print in blood. The print quickly burned to the same black as the rest of the scroll.

"Ok, I want you to do what I just did but in this outer circle."

"Right, sure." Monica tried to summon a kunai manually, with hand signs, which worked until she tried cutting yourself and the kunai immediately dispelled as she lost concentration. Fukushi said nothing but handed her his summoned kunai. Monica showed a wave of shame that she couldn't manage the jitsu.

"You've been trying the jitsu for a week now. Don't worry it'll take time to form fully like it's second nature and you won't even have to concentrate to keep it." Monica sighed, 'at least he understands' he thought to herself as she pressed her thumb into the scroll.

"Alright, Basically the scroll works like this." He pointed to the centre where he had pressed his blood. "This is to summon me once the seal is activated. Where you put your blood." He pointed over to the off-branch. "That's so your chakra can also activate the scroll."

"So erm, how do I activate the scroll?" Monica mumbled, she had missed out on the sealing classes because one of her bullies had broken her leg in a 'friendly' sparring match. That and she was sure the teacher had something against her as well so she was too uncomfortable to come in late once her leg healed.

Fukushi kept a stoic face on, he didn't mind she didn't know and much to Monica's relief he didn't question her about it. "You just put your hands to either side of where you pressed your thumb print and push some chakra through it. Pretty simple stuff actually."

"Erm Fukushi?"

"Yeah? Need something?"

"Why does it take blood? I've seen you teleport without cutting yourself."

Fukushi looked up at Monica with his remaining eye. He sat back to think for a minute. "I guess I can use both body and spirit types of the same jitsu. The scroll here is close to a summoning which is a body-type jitsu. It requires a physical piece of yourself with chakra in it. Mostly blood."

"So, spirit Jitsu is just chakra by itself?"

"More or less, it's the mental capacity to complete the jitsu. Think about it like that ink over there, to make sealing ink you need to mix your blood with the ink. But if you know the right jitsu then you can make scrolls without ink because you're using the spirit version instead of the ink and blood." Fukushi explained as best as he could but he was satisfied with Monica's nod of understanding. 'She just needs to actually hear it, how lousy had her training been?' Fukushi thought to himself. She seemed to be blaming her village for being clueless. As he thought to himself, Fukushi rolled up the scroll and handed it over to Monica who proceeded to taking out a smaller scroll and opened it out revealing a long banner which she drew when Fukushi taught her the storage jitsu. She needed the visual aid so she could get the patterns right in her head as she slowly signed and spoke out loud in time to her hand signals.

"Genus… Ignis… Sigillum… Libri" Monica concentrated and a wide banner of blazing blue fire stretched out to either side above the scroll before both disappeared in smoke. She smiled as she completed the jitsu. "This is so useful."

"Glad you like it, so want to try storing chakra?"

Monica beamed a smile at Fukushi to which he gave a small smile as he passed her the ink and a few wrapped-up scrolls. She got busy mixing a small drop of blood into the ink, using Fukushi's knife again.

"Now you just got to copy this pattern." Fukushi got started on quickly drawing out the circular seal with what looked like brackets to either side. He then made a small circle to the top right corner inside the original circle. Last of all, Fukushi drew a wreath of patterns and symbols around the circle. "I'll let you work on it while I meditate over there, I need to catch up on my own chakra."

Monica spent the new two hours trying to get the shape right, using a lot of the scroll paper which was now discarded around where she sat. Fortunately, the was no wind, otherwise the discarded scrolls would have blown all over the valley by now. Fukushi just sat with his eye closed and dead to the world he would sit for hours because it replenishes chakra much faster than sleeping or resting. Monica took this time to practice anything he teaches her so although nowhere near perfect or fast at her jitsu she now knew a lot more than what her old academy had taught her. A phantom giggle made her slip her hand and she cursed out loud before starting again with a fresh scroll.

"It's getting late, you should get moving." Fukushi spoke from out of the blue, causing Monica to jump and ruin the seal again.

"Hey! I almost had it before you made me jump!" Monica turned to Fukushi who had an amused face on him.

"I'm sorry, but you should get going. We need to get that page and while you're still fresh."

Monica flinched, she hoped that she could have just ran away from those people who hated her. Never to see them again and prove to herself she can be a great shinobi; better than the scum she had to grow up with. Both of them got up and looked around to see all the scrolls.

"Might want to get more scroll paper while you're at it. But, keep at it, having lots of chakra could save your life." Monica sighed in frustration that she couldn't get it down. Fukushi simply walked up to her and stood right infront of her. She was surprised when he held her hand, followed by noticing him placing two small scrolls in her palm as he let go. "When I am summoned I'll need the extra chakra, those are my last two scrolls."

Monica kissed him. This time surprising Fukushi.

"I'll do it for you Fukushi." Monica spoke as Fukushi lightly pushed her off him. She pouted but began walking out of the hot springs down a narrow crevasse. Fukushi watched her go. He sighed before calling after Monica.

"If I die, you must get those pages, they are too powerful if someone should translate them. It's something I must do before the wrong people use them. You understand that don't you."

Monica stopped and had a chill shoot down her spine. She found herself less worried about Armageddon and more worried about losing her saviour. She gave Fukushi a smile before she turned away and tried to hide the anxiety.

"You won't die." She called back trying to erase the thought from her mind.

Fukushi hoped she wouldn't end up caught but this way she has better chance of walking away from his life. As he sat down to quickly summon some bread and smoked meat. He stared into empty space with his remaining eye as he ate and quietly spoke to himself outloud.

"I should have pushed her away."


	8. Chapter VIII

**Next chapter in my story. I hope everyone reading it is enjoying it. Comment or review, or message me, i don't bite. Over 1000 views :D I would like a cover image for myself and the story, if someone could be so kind as to help me with that. I'm good at art but fall short on computerized art. Let alone uploading something from a scan.**

Monica had been walking for some time and already the sun was setting before she got anywhere near Iwagakure. However, she preferred the detour as her nerves kept on giving in and causing her to turn back and forth. She knew she was missing for almost a month and did not know how everyone would react. Although, she could hazard a guess as memories of laughter filled her ears. After she shook her head, Monica was around where she hoped to find her 'sensei' Lee. Lee often took everyone to this spot to train in the evening before last meal of the day. Typically crying about the youth of today, and their enthusiasm to train their bodies into great shinobi.

She kept her presence hidden in the forest foliage on the floor as she approached the sounds of sparring between young genin. Followed by the voice that could only be described as Lee of the Leaf. She smiled to herself with intent as she slunk back to the main road not too far from the training grounds under the shadow of Iwagakure up in the mountains above. More or less five minutes later and Monica found herself in front of a tavern, she swears these things were everywhere. By now she was used to walking in them despite being a year younger than the drinking age. Fukushi used these to pass messages around and to gather information as many ninjas drank here as the locals. Monica headed straight up to a woman who was posted behind the bar and sat on a stool, she got herself comfortable and pulled her hood down to reveal messy orange hair roughly cut to neck length and her two scars were visible to the world. The first being under her left ear which led down her side. The cut was now a pale pink as it scarred over. The second one, on the right side of her neck, was from proving she wouldn't turn back on her choice to Fukushi. She had a third on her cheek but it was shallow and small so she doubted it would remain as the other two did.

"Mind if I have a dish of sake please?" Monica spoke politely to the barmaid who looked up at her before frowning.

"You look a bit young."

"I'm over, but i really need a strong drink. You see I am planning to confess my feelings and my nerves are all wrecked." This made the barmaid grin.

"Oh yeah sure sure, but I get you." She quickly poured out a shallow bowl of sake and placed it in front of Monica. The bar is largely empty aside from a group of drunk men who must have had an early finish to their day. She paid the barmaid with some money she had stolen from some killed bandits.

"So how are you going to do it." The barmaid continued as she leaned over the bar in front of Monica, her hands resting under her chin. She smiled sweetly and probably wanted to pass the time. Monica smiled and wove her lies.

"You see I was going to get him to save me, you know be my hero and ask him in the heat of the moment." Monica sipped the alcohol and let the burning liquid slip down her throat.

"Ooh that's ballsy, you sure he could save you?"

"Oh, don't worry he's a shinobi."

"From Iwagakure? Now you're the ballsy one." They both let off a short giggle and Monica quickly became serious in front of the barmaid.

"You see those drunks?"

"Yeah what about them?"

"Watch." Monica grinned as she turned to the drunks. Finishing her drink in one quick gulp.

She approached them with a light skip at the men who had been stealing glances at her since she came in. They were preparing themselves to either be smooth or try and cover the fact they were looking. Monica stunned them as she leaned against one of them who was sitting on the end of the table. She practically cuddled right into the man's arm. There were five men in total and each one had red drunk noses whilst being surrounded in empty sake bottles.

"Hey boys I'm feeling a little lost and I was wondering if big strong men like you could show me around and take me to the drunken toad tavern for my job." The tavern in question was not too far in fact a little up the road on the other side of this small village, they really were everywhere. Monica was trying to put on her most seductive voice and by the looks the men were giving each other it looked like it was working. "I don't have much money but I'll pay you in other ways." She had their interest. "Pweeze." She pouted and gave them puppy eyes. The men nodded and grinned.

"Alright lady we will help." One man spoke with a slight slur.

"Yeah remember you promised to pay."

Monica took one of their sake bottles and drained it in one fast motion. There weren't much sake left only about two mouthfuls. She smiled at the men who were impressed by her drinking.

"I'll wait for you outside." Monica spoke with a smile and kissed one on the cheek. She felt wrong afterwards and made a note to wash her mouth out. It tasted worse than bad sake. However, she didn't show disgust to any of the drunk men and she skipped outside with a playful smile to wait for them to finish boasting about what they will do to her. The barmaid watched with curiosity about what that woman was thinking. She watched as the drunks got up to leave, still boasting, and leaving behind a mess that she would have to tidy up. The barmaid looked over the bar to see what will happen. The orange haired woman proceeded to punch one guy in the balls followed by a swift kick to the second man's groin. Both men held their manhood and almost fell to the floor. The other three cursed at the woman who had skipped out of range from their fists. She saw the taunting woman turn and shouted.

"Your dicks are so small, blowing them wouldn't even count as a snack." She ran off with the men swearing over their promises once they catch her. It was a story to tell her friends as she laughed at the whole situation.

Monica ran ahead and made sure the men were still hot on her trail. She didn't use any ninja techniques and instead ran and jumped between the roots of the trees around them up the bank. After a jump into a small dip about half way between the training grounds and the bar. She quickly set to work taking her cloak off and wrapping her wakizashi blade and a couple spare kunai, her money, and pouch of small scrolls.

"Genus Ignis: Sigillum Libri." She quickly uttered under her breath and a blue summoning banner shone brightly in front of her before vanishing into a puff of smoke. She was getting the hang of this. With more hand signals, she completed her second jitsu of summoning a kunai into her left hand, and proceeded to cut into her clothes whilst rubbing dirt as much as she could.

"Found you bitch." One of the now sober man from the bar was behind her. Panting but soon joined by the other four. Monica stood up and dispelled her kunai. She turned around to face the angry men who were all grinning at catching her.

"I'm going to make you beg for forgiv…" He paused as she winked at him followed by tears running down her cheeks. Monica threw herself back into the trunk of a tree and screamed in fear.

"No! please! Someone help!" She screamed loudly amongst sobbing uncontrollably and hiding her face. The men were coming to senses over her sudden act. They realised the trap but had no time to act.

"Leaf Hurricane!" A proud voice called out as a green-clad man launched a kick into one man, who quickly found himself in a tree thirty meters away easily. The second man received an upper-cut punch followed by a roundhouse kick. Too fast for any of them to see let alone react to.

Lee stood in front of the crying Monica and facing off the three remaining men. Two immediately routed and fled into the forest while one begged.

"Please believe us. She tricked us to chase her. It was that bitches doing not ours. Believe me!"

"A highly unlikely story." Lee kicked the man in the chin which caused him to do a backflip and with a strike from Lee's palm the man was knocked back to his fallen comrades down the hill. Lee turned to the crying girl he had just 'saved' and he was stunned at what he saw.

"M-Monica? By the power of youth, you have returned!" Monica forced herself to rush up to Lee and hug him close while sobbing into his shoulder. Her crocodile tears soaked the green jumpsuit but she was going to put on as much of a show as she could. In reality she cringed at the thought of the green jumpsuit after Lee had managed to persuade her to wear the damn thing. He was blissfully unaware of the bullying that dragged her down, which was made much worse after being caught alive wearing the jumpsuit.

"You're hurt though, I'll get someone to look at you." Lee walked with Monica in tow who had begun to shake in fear, tears were still streaming down her dirty face making distinct lines. Lee was going to make a big thing out of this she could already tell.

"Make way! Make way! Everyone stop training, as much as I don't wish to stop you in your youth." Lee commanded and a lot of relieved sighs from the genin were heard across the field. Monica realised people were starting to notice, her anxiety began to kick up as she started to expect them to laugh. 'Shit' she spoke to herself. I should not have. Keep calm. No. Her internal war caused her to shrink further behind Lee and shake faster with her eyes darting around. Phantom pains and memories rushed and fled as fast as her mind would work.

"Monica has returned. I knew she would! Monica? Monica! Are you ok? What happened to you?"

"I.." She opened and closed her mouth before breaking down in sobbing. She got concerned looks from the genin who didn't know her well and more uninterested looks from the genin who came with her to the land of stone from Konoaha. She couldn't tell the difference between reality or her imagination but she was sure she heard her old teammates cursed their luck that she returned. After all they were making 'some decent progress now she wasn't dragging her down'. Lee slowly walked her away from the training ground.

"I want you all to lap Iwagakure ten times before returning for dinner." Lee shouted as he picked up Monica to speed off and find help. Monica felt pathetic, she let her fears control her and break composure. However, she comforted herself in knowing this probably helped her case. She was able to stop crying but she was still shaking uncontrollably.

Lee had helped Monica to her feet before entering a hotel which she didn't recognise. This wasn't where they were staying? Lee lead her into the lounge where four leaf shinobi were relaxing after a long day of reading. They sat around the fire on some comfortable looking green couches. Hinata and Naruto shared the longer sofa while Sakura, who had similar hair to Monica, only cleaner and bright pink, sat opposite them. The last one, who wasn't engaged in talking, was Shikamaru who was reading a book to himself. There weren't any markings on the cover to indicate what he was reading though. Sakura turned to see who entered and immediately had the look of utter shock. She had wanted Monica to be on her genin team for the three years she attempted to pass the genin exams. By the time she passed though Sakura had a squad already and she always felt bad because she felt medial jitsu would be good for Monica.

"Monica? Shit what the hell happened." Sakura jumped over her seat and rushed up to the girl and pulled her away from Lee into a good light where Sakura ran her hands over Monica with the green medical jitsu glowing brightly.

"I found her by the training site with some unsavoury people chasing her." Lee answered

"Did they hurt you?" Sakura spoke to Monica without replying to Lee. By now Naruto and Hinata had gotten up to be of any assistance. Monica looked over at the jonin and shook her head. Sakura hesitated. "I think you were spiked." Sakura had horrific images of what these men were trying to do to Monica. Her hands pressed on the young girl's forehead and proceeded to cure her from the alcohol in her system. Monica began to feel drowsy from the jitsu's effects. "Don't worry you should get cleaned up and rest, Naruto and Hinata could you take her back to where the genin stay?" Naruto didn't say anything but he rested both his hands behind his head and with a little stretch he started to walk about of the door. Hinata smiled at Monica with her almost pure white pupils and nodded for her to follow.

Monica blushed and looked away, she could feel everything she had built since she was with Fukushi had just melted away as if nothing ever happened. She had to constantly remind herself that she has to get the page for Fukushi, no matter what. She did promise him with her first kiss. Her hand covered her lips as the three left the Hotel. She could hear Sakura call for Lee.

"Lee, could you find her old teammates, I think they'll help her calm down enough to talk about what happened." Sakura ordered her colleague around while Shikamaru remained out of the situation and read more of his book.

As they walked down Iwagakure's roads, Naruto asked Monica a blunt question. "Was it that demon who caused that scar?" He looked over his shoulder at Monica who nearly had to bite her own tongue for nearly speaking his name.

"N-no, it was, other people." Monica spoke as quietly has Hinata used to.

"You're safe now though." Hinata comforted.

"Yeah nothing like a scar to give you character, you know I'd be covered in scars if it weren't for Kurama." Naruto added. Monica blinked as she wasn't sure who Kurama was. She had the image of Fukushi's scars across his face, certainly character building.

"Y-yeah, I still want to be stronger." Monica admitted.

"You know you can ask us for help, Naruto is always willing to help anyone with anything." Hinata spoke. "It's one of the many reasons I-Everyone likes him." She dropped a not so subtle hint but Naruto didn't give an indication where or not he picked it up.

"Thank you, I-I feel like I know w-what I'm doing." Monica quietly spoke, Naruto didn't look at Monica but he was amused at how alike Hinata she sounded when she was younger. Hell, they were only five years older than her but he knew how much Hinata improved in five years so why not Monica.

"So what was it like being lost, ya know?" Naruto spoke out loud to Monica, not turning to see her reaction.

"Hell." She spoke coldly. Her composure was back and she was able to think a bit more clearly now. Monica was half right, although she was with her saviour she also had to follow him through rain, training, and killing, she was hungry and thirsty and had many sleepless nights, where danger kept the pair awake. The two jonin ninja kept quiet as if they were satisfied with her answer and did not want to pressure her further.

"What brought you to Iwagakure Naruto?" Monica asked softly and as casually as possible. She hadn't realised that more leaf ninja had arrived.

"Oh? we are on the mission to get the guy who's been killing everyone. He's the demon guy in case you hadn't heard anything." Naruto replied with a hint of anger in his voice when he spoke about Fukushi. Monica's eyes widened but she was grateful no one saw her reaction. 'Shit' she thought, 'I gotta tell Fukushi, Naruto is going to destroy him. Does he know what he's doing?' She was becoming frustrated about not being able to be there to help Fukushi. Against Naruto he will need her help. As bad as it sounded she liked the idea of saving him though, maybe before he would get too injured. She gave off a short small smile.

"I-I don't suppose I could be any help, I don't th-think Sakura would let me train and I-I don't want to be stuck doing nothing.

Naruto turned and looked up at Hinata who answered Monica for him. "I don't see why not, we are only trying to look for a page or whatever he's after."

"We will have to clear it with Shikamaru but hey, if it makes the job go by faster." Naruto added.

The trio reached the other hotel where all the genin had been staying since their join training program started. It was a large building which was close to the Tsuchikage's tower. The architecture remained identical to the rest of the village, a building cut from the very stone which while looked rough and cold from the outside. Upon entering the hotel the floors were made of wood with a large fire in the lobby and radiators throughout keeping a very snug feel to the place. The walls were also made of wood to about waist high which the rest was white washed. Red curtains and paintings broke the otherwise plane décor and their stay was an elegant one.

"Thank you Hinata and Naruto, I remember where my room was." Monica politely gave them a small bow and left to find her room. Naruto and Hinata returned to their party members, Hands slowly inched towards each other as they walked away.

Meanwhile Kurama inside Naruto was face-palming himself hard. He had thought about telling Naruto but instead he lay down with his head resting on his paws. With the nine long tails thrashing excitingly about his new game. 'This will keep me entertained' He thought to himself. While he no longer desired to destroy he still had some malicious enjoyment in other people affairs. Especially the small game he made for himself whilst living inside of Naruto. He took some counters and looked on his small board he had made just before. 'Now who will find out about Monica first, Shikamaru would be the safe bet… I'll give Hinata a gamble I think.' Throwing the counters over Hinata's name. 'Urg, I wish I had someone to gamble with, I can't even ask Naruto on this one.'


	9. Chapter IX

**Sorry in the short delay, progress will be much slower than usual because of work and i had the misfortune of becoming badly ill over the weekend which was when i wanted to post this chapter. I am getting the impression people are less keen on OC characters but i'm sorry it's just how the story goes. Because the base-line was from the cannon (No Neji (I liked that guy)). So in order to bring the new characters up to speed i have to concentrate on them for now. I could just provide info cards but that simply is not good story telling (although I still plan to write out info cards in a few chapters.)**

 **However, all is not lost i have finally sorted out what i want to do with the plot for the foreseeable future but it's still open for suggestions if you want to have your say in it (Like a character, plot line, jitsu etc) If you're wondering by now, there are going to be three acts, the first, I know what i want from the plot, the second i have a pretty good idea, and the third i have no clue.**

 **Thank you all for reading this much and i hope you enjoy the story as it unfolds. Oh and Naru/Hina fans patience is well rewarded as once i feel like you know the new characters i'll begin to develop the original characters. Please review and comment, feedback is something i'd love.**

Monica walked with a pace to her old room. Each team had a common room as such, containing a small seating area and two bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms. She entered her room to a complete mess with all her spare clothes thrown and trampled. 'Probably Dentsu and Nago.' She sighed and picked up some less-trampled clothes. She didn't have a spare headband but given the situation she doubted anyone would mind. Monica entered the shower and ran the hot tap and as she waited for the temperature to kick in she quickly stripped and stared in the mirror. Sakura hadn't headed either of her major scars; mostly because they were too old to heal fully. Monica stretched about and watched how the long scar, which nearly sliced her into two pieces, would move and contort to her figure. Monica smiled and she finally accepted her new look. She rubbed the other scar across the right side of her neck. Neither could be covered by hair or clothes without looking like she was trying to hide something so she was alright with them being visible to the world. After all, they meant something to her. Just before she turned she looked back into the mirror and saw a horrifically bloody figure of a man grinning behind him. He was bald and the blood dirt and grime made it difficult to see his skin but the grin unnerved Monica. A thought clicked. Monica fell back from the mirror and was immediately sick. 'That was one of the bandits?' She was shaking and staring down in her pool of bile, her vision kept fading between clear and foggy. The shinobi slowly turned her head to see if the man was still there but she only found herself alone in the bathroom. After a deep breath Monica stood up, still shaking somewhat to what she just saw.

After her shower with new, untorn clothes, on Monica was able to rest on her bed, she wore standard shinobi black pants with a tank top, and a light green jacket on top to keep her warm. She felt relaxed and could steal a quick nap before getting ready to get the page Fukushi was after. The orange haired shinobi instead forced herself up, she could sleep after she's finished repaying Fukushi. With a few quick hands signs she summoned some of her chakra to become visible and warm to the touch. She grabbed the round chakra which stuck to her hands. Next, she wrung her hair with it and dried it as she rubbed her burning hand through her bright locks. Satisfied with her useful jitsu, she found a small notebook amongst her clothes which had been neglected and completely empty. With a quick summon she got the original chakra seal that Fukushi gave her and proceeded to practice the shape without using any chakra infused ink.

A loud bang of a door being slammed signalled Monica to snap the notebook closed. She had managed to get about a dozen of the insignias right and was pleased with her work. Her smile quickly faded once two of her 'teammates' burst into her room with the look of disappointment on their faces. Dentsu and Nago were both wearing standard shinobi attire. With Nago wearing a black hoodie with orange stripes in addition and Dentsu with bandages wrapped up his arms. He was a tai fighter and usually ended up with bruises.

"Why did you have to turn up? We were going to get a new teammate and one that didn't suck as hard as you." Dentsu spoke harshly. "We could have made it to the chunin exams without you dragging us down."

Monica didn't reply, she looked away as memories of failing the genin exams twice filled her head with laughter as her jitsu failed, kunai missed their marks and she had the bad luck of being paired with the best tai jitsu fighter in her class.

"You should have stayed away, now look, you've come back just to drag us down." Nago added to their taunting, causing Monica to shift uncomfortably by her table.

"Psh, she now has a diary" He gestured to Monica's book which she had been using. "What? Now you're writing down feelings? How many guys you sucked off over the last month?"

"Please stop, I really don't want to be dealing with this." Monica begged, she was fighting back tears again. Her voice was quiet and the two boys were barely able to hear her.

"What was that? I didn't hear you?"

"I said piss off!" Monica shouted back and her two teammates looked at eachother and laughed before they left. Their laughter seeming echoing around Monica even once they stopped.

"Eee, for cursing like that, we are going to have your dinner, don't expect any food, you naughty girl." Nago chimed in a childish voice. "We'll be back after dinner, we were gonna let you have some but now you don't deserve it." The two boys left Monica to their feast their laughing continued to drill into her head long after they left her.

Monica breathed heavily and tried to calm herself down, she knew now she could beat them if she wanted to. She had to remind herself that she was no longer holding them up. Hell, no longer going to be with them, she had a way out. Didn't she? She was better, right? Fukushi wouldn't have trained her if she was completely hopeless. Her mind was throwing thoughts and worries around her and she clutched at her notebook hard trying to maintain control. With shaking hands, she opened the notebook back up to try and clear her mind with more practice. She opened to her last one and through no fault of her own the ink had been smudged. To Monica however, she felt like a stone sunk in her heart and she threw the book away in disgust. Slumped to the chair she curled up. Her head ached and after a while of dull throbbing she couldn't take it and threw herself over the bed.

Despite her best efforts, she couldn't find sleep no matter how much she tried. The door slammed again and in the other room she heard Dentsu and Nago talking to themselves.

"What are we going to do about Monica? She'll only drag us down, we will never make the chunin with her. We'll either fail or worse, get killed." Nago's voice spoke quietly but Monica still listened in.

"It'll be fine, we should appeal for her to be removed from the ninja training, I mean lost for a month doesn't suggest she's capable."

Nago laughed. "A ninja who got lost, that'll be a new one, even from Naruto."

"Remember whenever we got Iruka he would tell how bad Naruto used to be?"

"Atleast she's breaking records here." Both boys laughed.

"We just need her to agree though, which I doubt would be difficult, she should have never became a ninja and just stuck to her family." Monica was shocked. She tried to keep the fact she was first in her family to become a shinobi. First outsider too, having moved into Konoha when she was younger because of the increasing violence from the Akatsuki had forced her family to decide that a shinobi village would be safer.

Both boys re-entered Monica's room as she sat up to face away from them.

"Hey, Monica, we've been thinking and we'd like to ask if you could drop from the ninja program." Dentsu would have sounded like concerned partners if it weren't for the fact they were struggling to hold back their laughter from earlier.

"No." Monica said firmly but her voice wavered slightly as she continued. "I'm not going to let you sweep me away." She heard Nago let off a giggle before whispering into Dentsu's ear.

"She's trying to be serious, how cute." This caused Dentsu to burst out laughing when he noticed Monica's pissed off looking face.

"Look Monica, we just don't think you'll be safe." He tried acting concerned again. "Look at yourself, you have scars all over your face. Being a ninja is serious, you'll end up dead."

This time Monica let off a laugh. She had managed to push aside all the voices and found the one she liked. One that also found it funny how weak she _used_ to be. She stood up and glared right into their eyes. A look which her teammates weren't used to.

"Oh, I am serious. Go on, keep laughing!" Monica spoke in a firm voice.

Nago, being the braver of the two. Spoke up. "Beat us in a spar then, tomorrow, in the morning. If you think you are good enough as a ninja, then beat us. If you can't you resign. We can't let a pathetic bitch like you drag us down."

"Why not now?" Monica's voice darkened with intent. It was just like the other night when she attacked that estate. At first, she was timid but soon she found killing them easy. Maybe even enjoyed it. No! she couldn't enjoy it. Fukushi certainly didn't. She had to, just like she has to stand up to her teammates. She pushed her palm to her head to pressure a small pain in her temple.

Nago and Dentsu felt her intent and realised they might have pushed her too much. They backed away as Dentsu reached for his kunai and Nago to his shuriken's. The two genin were about to underestimate her with a few flicks of their ordinance at Monica's arms and legs. Hoping to incapacitate her and she will give up after realising how easy she was to take down.

Monica closed her eyes and internalised her jitsu in response. Time slowed for her once she opened her eyes. Her chakra became visible and deflected every shot at her shooting blue embers as the weapons collided. Her dark eyes reflected the bright blue embers as they danced around her body. Blue fire erupted around every surface near her and raced passed the two genin. The sofa to their left was now burning bright blue flames. The walls too supported the unnatural fire. Dentsu and Nago turned to flee through the main door. Once they turned a kunai shot past their ears and struck the oak door in a dull thud. Fire seemed to pour from the kunai and coated the door in a hot blue cloak.

"What's your problem Monica." Dentsu asked trying to hide his fear but to no avail.

"No, what is _your_ problem Dentsu?" You called me shit? Where were your tips to fighting? _You_ were meant to be the better one with tai fighting. Nago where were _you_ when I struggled with nin jitsu, I could have found out my fire affinity so, much, sooner."

The two boys struggled for an excuse but Monica continued regardless.

"Where were you when I was injured? Where were you when I was alone, or stuck. Why did you never care? You call me shit? So prove it then you little bitch!" Monica was practically screaming at the point. Dentsu lunged to strike at the screaming orange-haired woman. He thought his tai-jitsu would be sufficient to taking her out. He had been training non-stop with Lee to make up for his teammates lack of progress. Dentsu aimed for a kick to Monica's face.

"Too slow!" Her words dripped with venom as she ducked, punched his thigh on the outstretched leg and immediately spun around to kick him square in the chest. Knocking her former teammate back. Dentsu quickly regained his stance and with a right armed punch her lunged at Monica.

"You bitch you should respect who's better than you!" Monica parried his right arm away and grabbed his left wrist as he tried for a second attack. She then punched him in the jaw followed by a quick strike in his throat causing the genin to fall to his knees winded. Monica turned to see Nago jumping over the fire to try and flank her. She dodged out of the way of a kunai whist summing herself a kunai to defend. Her ability to arm herself was not expected from Nago as she plunged the blade into his right side before he could swipe at her neck again. Nago burst into smoke as his shadow clone dispelled. Monica quickly realised and turned to the real Nago who had been running through hand signs. He kept getting the signs wrong however. His panic was evident in his eyes and sweat as he got his jitsu wrong again.

"Y-you would have killed me?"

"Why what's wrong?" Monica mocked. She loved how the tables have turned now she was back. "Didn't you say that being a ninja was serious, that you could die?"

"I didn't, please don't do this, I'm sorry!" Nago was crying as he still rushed his jitsu over and over. Monica however, calmly palmed through a short string of hand signs and Nago looked in fear as he had no idea what Monica was sighing. He found out as she pushed her hands out and a blue fireball shot out at her target. The younger ninja took the shot into his chest and he was blown out of the window of the hotel. Almost to his death if he hadn't managed to catch to balcony's rail. Pain flooded through him as the glass had pierced his jacket. He struggled but managed to pull himself up towards safety.

Monica was walking towards Nago while dragging the stunned Dentsu. Tears in her eyes as her anger overwhelmed her. Nago quickly looked around for a potential escape. He saw a demon walking towards him with fire now burning throughout the room. The deadly blue flame licked everything in sight. Monica approached and crouched down after dropping Dentsu. Her voice bubbled with the tears that streamed down.

"Where were you when you left me in the forest to be raped." Nago's eyes widened as he realised the weight of what he did a month ago, only to calmly denying any knowledge of where Monica was. He was defeated and slowly relaxed his grip on the balcony. Monica heard a bang. Just before the door opened all the fire vanished as quickly as it had been summoned. Leaving most of the furniture and the room untouched. Albeit a little singed.

"What's going on!" The hotel owner and Lee burst into the room moments after the fire cleared. Had it been anyone else who could sense chakra they would have known that the entire room had a thick presence from the skirmish.

Monica cried out. "Please help me! He's falling!" Monica grabbed Nago and tried to pull him up only to pretend to slip her grip. Nao noticed her strength was deliberately weak and she was more than capable to help him up. Lee rushed forward to save Nago who fortunately managed to hold on long enough.

"What happened here Monica?"

"T-they were having a sparring match and it got out of hand."

Lee's eyes lit with a familiar passion. "Ah young genin fighting in their youth! Can't wait to see more of this passion when you get back to the training grounds." Lee stood up and almost had tears running down his eyes. "I vow to allow this passion to flourish so these genin will become grand shinobi. Yosh!" Monica and the head of the hotel had the look of cringe on their faces. The two boys were too shell shocked to register what Lee said. "Oh, and Monica, Shakamaru says you and your team can help them search while you recover. Sakura wanted to check up on you anyway." Lee have them all thumbs up before leaving after talking to himself about the power of youth, no one was listening.

Once the team of Genin were left alone. Monica spoke calmly, even with a smile, as if they had been friends this whole time and their ass-kicking never happened.

"Now I trust you to not tell a soul about me." She received two shakes of their heads. "That you'll help me from now on like good little bitches?" Two nods. "Am I beautiful?" She got two nods and Nago muttered yes under his breath but Monica still caught it. "Now what about my scars?" Nago and Dentsu blinked.

"Erm, they make you, err they suit you? Make you superior? Pretty?" Nago was lost for what to say to her but didn't want to offend her again so soon so a scatter of complements was his best course of action.

"Good! Now go and get me some food, I'm hungry after that." She smiled coldly. As Nago and Dentsu got up slowly. Nago fell to the floor immediately as he realised to true damage of Monica's attack. White hot pain seared through his chest. Dentsu looked up at her expecting face.

"I'll get the food, Nago you rest up." Dentsu spoke with a whisper as his throat was still sore frim Monica's strike.

"Oh, and boys, cross me and I will kill you both, without hesitation." She giggled which unnerved them both and left the two to pick up the pieces and get her food. They remained silent as they could feel her intent. To them she could and probably would back up that promise with action.

* * *

Morning came and Nago and Dentsu found themselves in their common room talking quietly to themselves; Monica was either asleep or at the very least had not presented herself from her room.

"Do you think she's serious?" Whispered Nago who had dropped his jacket on the account it was completely ruined from last night.

"She did beat your ass didn't she or did you just imagine being flung from the window?" Dentsu said sarcastically and motioned at the wide open window letting in a light morning breeze, just enough to shift the curtains.

"Damn who is she?"

"Look, at least we can use her to get to chunin now."

"Is that all you think about Dentsu? She threatened to _kill_ us, doesn't that make you think?"

"Hmph I think we should tell our Sensei."

"Now that would be a bad idea now won't it." A female voice from directly behind them spoke out causing the two teammates to freeze.

"H-how did you g-get there?" Nago stuttered as he turned around half expecting fire to engulf him.

"Try living in hell, you pick up a few things." Monica smirked whilst the two shinobi were still unsure about her new personality. The ninja tried to answer her but she just continued regardless. "Now be good little bitches and stay here and stall anyone who comes in. I will be reading and you are not to enter. Can you do this for me?"

Both Nago and Dentsu simply nodded and watched her walk away into her room. Monica stopped at the doorway before flexing her arm and a burning blue orb appeared just above her fingers as she made the internal jitsu.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" The pair stood and stared at the burning chakra. At first, they thought she was about to strike out at them but. If either of them had been paying attention they would have noticed a tear of sadness in her eye although no one would be able to tell why. Not even Monica would have known truly why she was sad.

An hour passed as the team of genin waited for someone to arrive. Monica was not with the two teammates and instead she resided within her room and was looking through the large leather-bound book which Fukushi had allowed her to access. It was his greatest treasure and held thousands of pages full of information. The issue is that none of it was in Japanese. Monica had a very hard time finding anything she recognised but she glanced through each page reguardless. The book itself must have been hundreds of years old with pages browned and ink faded. Monica had to be careful whenever she turned each page as many had been ripped out and replaced by slotting it back in unbounded. She guessed those were the pages Fukushi managed to return. She turned another page and a relatively new looking piece of paper flew out from in between the new page and the page after that. 'shit' Monica cursed as she carefully put the large book to one side and reached off her bed to the piece of paper that had fallen to the floor. She gazed at the writing and realised unlike the rest of the pages this one had Japanese and the native language of Fukushi side by side. Monica began to study just as a knock echoed from the common room door outside her own room. Without batting an eye Monica hid the translated page under her own notebook and with a quick series of hand signals she stored the great book into its pocket dimension.

"May I speak to the girl in your team?" I soothing voice spoke to Nago and Dentsu. Monica didn't recognise it. So with a frown she got up to her door and with a deep breath she composed herself and opened the door just as Nago knocked on her bedroom door.

Monica stepped out as Nago stepped aside and she eyed up the new woman. She had full cloud attire, a white flak jacket with black shinobi pants and top. She had long black hair which one lock seemed to permanently cover one eye to which she would flick back every so often. She was only armed with a set of kunai which rested in her jacket.

"I'd like a word with you, would you mind coming with me?"

"Not at all, would you mind if my team would come with me? They could be of assistance." Monica spoke sweetly to the cloud jonin. Nago and Dentsu shifted uncomfortably as they really didn't want to go with Monica and the jonin.

The woman sighed. "I guess it's fine if they tagged along, I'll probably need them anyway."

Monica simply smiled and nodded and she turned to lock her room

"My name is Druarni. Come with me I only need to ask a few questions, pick your brain over something if you will."

"I hope I can be of some assistance."

Druarni lead the team of genin out of their hotel and down the road. Druarni lead while Monica was close behind. Dentsu and Nago trailed back a bit in awkward silence, they both had the feeling of foreboding and neither dared talk about the tension in the morning air. The jonin lead genin arrived at the same hotel that Naruto, Sakura, Shikamaru, and Hinata were staying at. Monica kept a poker face on as Druarni lead them upstairs to the top level. The hotel was a lot grander than where the genin stayed. The stairway in the grand hall was made from carefully calved stone whilst the walls were decorated with intricate carvings and the wood was a deep mahogany brown. Clearly Iwagakure wanted to give their guests the best possible impression whilst they stayed here. The party reached the top floor and down a corridor to an oaken door. Druarni proceeded to unlock the door and invited the genin inside. Her room was much in the same layout as the genin, two bedrooms and a central common room complete with a kitchenette only her accommodation was slightly bigger with more ornate and expensive furniture.

"Sorry I had to bring you here, I didn't want our privacy to be disturbed, I'm sure you can understand." Druarni spoke calmly whilst heading to a bench to the back corner of the common room. "Tea?" Everyone shook their heads and politely declined. Druarni still put the kettle on and fished out a mug. Without looking up at her guests she continued to speak. "You're team four genin fom the leaf yeah?" Druarni paused. "And Monica? Was it? You were the missing genin for a month correct?"

"Yes Ma'am" Monica spoke politely to answer her question.

"What happened if you don't mind me asking?"

Monica was about to reply when Nago spoke up. "It was our fault." He shifted quietly as his contribution earned him a quick scowl from Monica. "We made her slip and left her in the forest as she was knocked unconscious." Nago admitted he also mouth sorry to Monica.

"And why… Nago? Did you leave her?"

"I-it was just a joke, we thought she would catch up and not go missing for a month." Druarni sighed at the boy's stupidity. You know Iwagakure is having issues with crime here.

"Yeah I found that out the hard way." Monica spoke coldly and showed off her scar down her left ear and neck.

"Well." Druarni continued. "You all may or may not know about the high-profile killings that have been occurring here recently. Nobles and ANBU and even a jonin from the Mist all fell victim to an attacker."

Monica turned away to face her teammates. "I was aware of a serial killer, but I never saw him." Monica lied as she kept her voice as level as possible.

"Well our informant and our late ally from the Mist has confirmed the killer had an accomplice." Druarni probed on. Monica shot up a look at her teammates who tried not to react but the subtle signals which Druarni picked up off Nago and Dentsu spoke volumes about Monica.

"I don't know what you're talking about?" Monica spoke, keeping her cool.

"You see, his accomplice had bright orange hair and utilised fire jitsu." Monica now looked dead ahead with dark grey eyes and slowly as she could she brought he hands together to form the first hand sign. Dentsu and Nago had the look of horror on their faces. The boys had worked out where Druarni was going with her question.

"Now don't get me wrong, as far as I know you're the only one I know here with orange hair. Also I saw your little stunt last night with Nago. A bright blue fireball struck him. I saw on my way out of the Tsuchikage's tower." Monica finished a second hand sigh, slowly so she did not attract attention.

"I already explained. Nago and Dentsu got a little too violent with eachother."

"I think you know what I am trying to say."

"I think you're wrong." Monica snapped coldly as she slowly completed the third hand sign.

Druarni smiled. "If you're right we will find out in a couple days. The pair of killers were sold out to us yesterday. If you aren't his accomplice, then we will find out when the pair of them strike."

Monica was stunned, she could not quite contemplate what she just heard. Fukushi would be walking into a trap. No, she had to remain calm, he can handle himself. She had to keep her end of the promise she made. She bit her lip with the tension as she brought the forth hand sign together. She begun to shake noticeably. Nago and Dentsu both looked like they wanted to admit something to the jonin but obviously were not willing to gamble on who would win the foreshadowed combat. If they warned Druarni about Monica and Monica won, they'd suffer for it no doubt. Druarni could tell Monica was lying by now, she made it so obvious to her and so she twitched her hands ready to cast her move on the orange haired girl.

"Monica I am arresting you on suspicion of deserting and murder." Monica finished her jitsu and a bright blue banner of chakra erupted from her hands. Druarni quickly blazed through her own jitsu. Monica grabbed the hilt of her wakizashi and with the speed that would have impressed any jonin she turned to face Druarni and struck her from right to left across her stomach. The cold blade effortlessly cut through the woman's jacket and caused her to clench her fists in pain and thus ruin her jitsu. Monica followed up by impaling the jonin on her sword. Monic pushed herself closer to the impaled woman and spoke loud enough for everyone to hear.

"You, will, not, get, in, my, way bitch! I'm going to help Fukushi and I won't let anyone stop me." Monica's words were cold. She then propped her boot onto the jonin's waist and pulled her wakizashi out of her chest. Monica stood up straight with her soaked weapon to her right and looked over her shoulder at the two teammates who feared for their lives. The woman had Druarni's blood covering her front and even a splattering over her face. Monica smiled.

"Damn and I liked this jacket, could you two do me a favour and bring me a change of clothes? Can't go around looking like this." Monica sounded as if she just had an accident and spilled something like tea or a sauce down her front. She threw her bedroom keys to Dentsu who flinched and dropped the keys to the floor. He stumbled and tried to pick them up off the floor. He fumbled around as he was too shaken to have good coordination. The two silently left at a pace, not fast enough to look suspicious but fast enough to comply to an order.

Twenty minutes or so Nago and Dentsu burst through Druarni's door to see Monica still coated in blood, of which it had now darkened and in some places cracked from becoming so dry. The orange-haired woman sat stretched out on the lounge with a few sake bottles from the raided drinks cabinet. See didn't acknowledge their entrance and stared darkly into space. Her once innocent grey eyes now coloured with dark feelings and intent. An intense look not softened by emotion, similar to the stare Fukushi glares at the world with. Her gaze instantly snaps to her teammates and with a voice unnaturally quiet and reserved she spoke to them.

"Oh? You're back? I'll be out in a few minutes, wait for me?"

Monica slowly got up and held her hands out to receive the new clothes and being careful to not let them touch the blood. Without a sound the two genin boys left the room and patiently wait for Monica to return. The two shinobi were either smart or dumb to comply to her every order but after what they've seen they had no doubt over the grim situation they found themselves in?

"Hey, Nago, do you think we'll make it out of this alive." Dentsu whispered without facing his friend.

"If we don't disturb her." Nago sighed quietly, obviously uncomfortable with Monica's unexpected reaction. "Why is she doing this?" a tear fell from Nago's eye as he almost caved but the click from the door behind made them both jump and Nago wiped his eyes before turning around to see Monica. She still had damp hair but at least not caked in blood anymore. She wore a slight smile and her eyes seemed human again. The orange-haired shinobi playfully pushed her teammates away who immediately flinched. After a short giggle at their reaction Monica smoke out.

"Come on let's see Shikamaru, they'll be waiting for us by now surely."

Monica skipped out and slowly closed the door, with a few hand seals her left hand burst into a sudden blue flame. She slowly pushed her fingers through the keyhole as the metal bubbled and hissed under the intense heat from the chakra. The lock mechanism had been welded shut and therefore utterly destroyed.


	10. Chapter X

**Another relatively short chapter, it's a little fresh off the press because i realised how little time i really have. But writing this is time well spent. Hoping to get the next chapter out over the weekend.**

 **Comment and review if you're enjoying the story and thank you for reading.**

 **Naruto and co. Two days after Monica had returned.**

It was late in the evening when Naruto was walking back to his room after a full day of searching. Having the genin to help them tidy up and move boxes helped speed things up in the archives of Iwagakure which was a place where jitsu was strictly forbidden in fear of damaging such records. Most of the boxes consisted of dated archives and administration of the village which probably hadn't been read by anyone for a very long time. Sakura and Hinata both decided to run off and explore the town while they had the break from the mission. Shikamaru had also left to give a daily report to the Tsuchikage. As Naruto entered the hallway into his hotel he could immediately hear the methodical 'whacks' of someone using the small gym space to the right, opposite the lounge. The room in question was good if you needed some clear space to do various activities, exercise being but one of said activities. Naruto would have walked up the stairs and to his room if it wasn't for Lee's voice.

"Now I will do 800 punches!" and the 'whacking' from before changed in pitch but still continued.

"Brushy brow?" Naruto enquired as he entered the gym space. He did indeed see Lee in his usual green attire and giving a training dummy dents from his onslaught.

"Yes Naruto, it is I." Lee stopped punching to turn to Naruto.

"How come you're still training? I thought you did that all day?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, well, I feel like I should be keeping up. A good shinobi should never tire!"

Naruto laughed. "Alright Bushy Brow I'll be seeing you around." The Blond jonin turned to leave with his arms stretched around to the back of his head.

"Wait, Naruto?"

"Hmm?"

"Am I training these genin right?"

"Well you're definitely putting them through their paces, I don't see a problem."

"I mean my team Naruto, I don't think they are working well together."

"I wouldn't be worried about them Bushy Brow, Since Monica returned they've stopped fighting among each other."

"That is a relief!"

Naruto felt guilty for talking to his friend about his team. It had been decided to leave him in the dark about Monica's suspicion as Lee's confidence to teaching would plummet like a stone. No one thought he would take failure well and with good reason, he'd simply push himself too far.

"So how long is left on your multi-village training program?" Naruto hesitantly changed the subject.

"I think another month will do the genin good, the mountain air is great for the youth of tomorrow." Lee spoke as he returned to punching the training dummy. Neither knew how to really speak about the elephant in the room. Naruto got his cue to edge out of the room. "Naruto! When I see you back at Konoaha I want to have another match. I must keep my abilities sharp." He gave the thumbs to Naruto.

Naruto smiled. "you can count on it!" He turned and almost walked straight into Skiamaru, behind him was Sakura. while Shikamaru had an uninterested face on, Sakura had a knowing smile on her face. It reminded Naruto of why he had fallen for her originally but recently Hinata had been an increasing influence on his life. Sure, he still loved Sakura but it's a matured love to a comrade in arms who had helped him through tough times and the great war itself.

"Can I help you Shikamaru?" Naruto inquired

"Actually, you can, Hinata wants you, she's outside, something about shopping."

"Wasn't Sakura? Nevermind I'll go."

"What's up with Lee anyway? I overheard some of your conversation."

"mmph, I think you know." Naruto sighed and it immediately wiped Sakura's smile off her face whist Shikamaru remained stoic.

"I guess we should tell him."

"Tell me what?" Lee called, he had also been listening into the conversation and had actually stopped punching the training dummy for some time now. Shikamaru groaned but before he could open his mouth to answer Lee, Sakura slipped passed and looked at Lee.

"It's Monica, sorry Lee but people are already suspicious of her. She fits the description and her disappearance roughly coincides when people first noticed her, only there are too many unreliable accounts on that."

"That can't be right, she's too kind and gentile to harm the leaf like this."

"And that's why the ANBU aren't going to arrest her until we find out what happened to Druarni once she's out of her coma. Our testimonies, your testimony, and her teammates are currently the only reasons she's safe."

"Yes, I heard about Druarni Sakura. It simply cannot be her though."

"I hope you're right Lee."

"Yeah, I doubt we'd be able to talk our way out of it when it hits the fan." Shikamaru added. A little unhelpful but he was right and the other two shinobi nodded in agreement.

"Druarni must have known something to be attacked but we won't find out until she wakes up. They say she was ran through with a blade." Sakura said.

"Then it cannot be Monica!" Lee spoke with a re-kindled passion. "She doesn't carry around weapons longer than kunai on her."

"That's a very good point, are you sure about that? She hadn't been secretly practicing or anything?" Shikamaru inquired about the new information.

"Mn I am certain, we tried weapons but didn't get around to liking anything other than the kunai."

"I think you just saved your student from the chopping block." Shikmaru patted Lee on the shoulder before going to leave. "You aren't a bad teacher, I'm sure Guy would be proud." With this Lee's passion burned and tears fell from his cheeks as he redoubled his beating on the training dummy. Sakura smiled again knowing Lee feels better and at least it was discussed so she could concentrate on finding that page that put Iwagakure in danger.

Meanwhile on a balcony overlooking one of the many waterfalls that Iwagakure had the pleasure of witnessing; sat Naruto and Hinata. The pair sat and looked over the rock-built buildings of the shinobi village from their vantage point. They were alone up on the path which was much to their liking. Naruto had relaxed into his seat which Hinata was sat straight and pressing her fingers together, she wanted to talk to Naruto but at the same time enjoyed the peace both of them had helped create. The blond haired shinobi may still be energetic but he knew that there were moments to be calm and reflective over how far he has come.

"Y-you look like you're thinking about something." Hinata finally managed to ask. Her words took Naruto out of his gaze, he turned to Hinata and smiled at the bluenette.

"Oh, you know, about how everyone is finally getting along. This is the first time I've been in another village and no one is spying on us. Feels free ya' know?"

"Yes, seems old grudges can be put aside." Hinata replied, referring to when the stone ninja had tried stealing her Byakugan.

"What about you? What are you thinking?"

Hinata looked at her lap briefly before facing Naruto. "About the mission, that we are just waiting for someone to attack us at his leisure. It's stressful."

"When he does come, I am going to beat him up for all the death he's caused."

"We still don't know who he is though Naruto."

Naruto weakly smiled. "Then I'll beat it out of him." Hinata didn't answer, she knew once Naruto had made up his mind there was no stopping him.

"A-atleast I'll be by your side."

"He's dangerous though, if he can teleport like my father could. you don't have to risk yourself for me."

"I don't mind Naruto, I want to be by you no matter how difficult things become. Through to good times and the bad too." Hinata blushed at what she just said without thinking. Naruto heard that no doubt. Slowly she turned to face Naruto who was also blushing. He looked down.

"Sorry, I forget you'd do that for me. You're always to kind to me."

"I'll remind you." Hinata slowly leaned over to Naurto and kissed him on the cheek. Naruto was a little stunned at Hinata constant kind words to him. She knew how to melt through all his internal walls which was something no other person could do. Yes, he knew he was open to others for better or worse but some place inside of him was reserved to only the victor.

"This is the part you kiss her kid." Karuma interrupted the moment. His head on one paw he was lazily watching the two from his own vantage point within Naruto. He was treating the pair like his own personal romance movie.

"Y-you were l-listening Kurama?" Hinata stuttered.

"I'll turn around." Kurama sighed from within. In reality he kept watching but aside from the mental prod he kept quiet.

Hinata hesitated now that Kurama had interrupted her thought process and she froze infront of Naruto. Naruto, suddenly and without warning, leant in for a kiss. He moved quickly and gave Hinata no time to react. His eyes were closed out of respect while Hinata's were wide open in surprise. Their lips parted with Naruto blushing at his own move. He smiled at the blue haired girl who was still stunned.

"I guess I should have done that sooner." He waited for her reply. "Hinata?" Still nothing. "I guess I broke her."

"Y-y-y-y-y-you." She stuttered finally before blushing bright red and touching her lips.

"We've kissed before though."

"Mn no that felt different."

"Heh I guess it was different."

"D-dose this m-mean?"

"If anyone has proved themselves to me, it was you. You saw my worst and accepted me for who I was despite my flaws." Naruto was quickly flicking through memories of Hinata helping and last of all a year ago, when Hinata asked to speak to Kurama in person which was something no one else ever did willingly. The two spoke at length and Karuma respected the woman for doing so. Naruto must have been thinking for too long as Hinata rested her head onto his shoulder.

"I've been wanting to do with for years you know." Hinata spoke softly.

"You should have just asked."

"Hindsight." Hinata muttered.

"So what happens now…"

"First, we beat the crap out of that guy, then, we clear Monica's name"

"Now you're talking." Naruto gave a cheesey trademark grin "I won't let anyone I know fall down that path again. What if Monica did abandon though." The sudden thought wavered Naruto as he realised it was a real possibility.

"Naruto, don't doubt yourself. We both know you'll bring her back, she won't be another Sasuke."

"I know just, she could potentially break this peace we've worked so hard to obtain."

"I will be by your side Naruto, no matter what happens, you'll come out on top."

"I'll not give up on the peace, not now." He took a deep breath. "You're right I've done this before." His smile returned to his whiskered face.

Hinata smiled. "There we go, now think about other things." She leaned in to whisper in his ear, Naruto noticed her blushing with intent. "How about you think about me." For some reason her warm breath, charged with intent, sent a shiver down Naruto's back. Naruto had begun to picture Hinata naked for some reason. Like her words turned him on like a switch. He caught himself wanting for something to happen between the two right on the bench. He shook his head to dispel the thought, Hinata was much to innocent. No matter how much he tried he still felt the wash of warm feelings flood his stomach.

"S-should we get back to the others." Naruto suggested quietly. He needed something to distract him from his perverted side. The sage, Jiraiya, His former sensei-now Hokage, Kakashi. Even Kurama all had their influences on the blond shinobi. He tried not to admit it but since the war he was becoming a little more like them and he noticed that side becoming stronger.

"I was enjoying it here, but yeah I guess we should." Hinata had grown comfortable to Narutos arm and as soon as she got up the cool night air made her shiver.

"Are you cold Hinata?"

"A little." Hinata admitted, in response Naruto proceeded to take his orange jacket off. He handed it to her while only being in a T-shirt.

"I was too hot in it anyway."

The pair walked down the bank slowly. Hinata had cuddled into Naruto, feeling that she had all but officially won over her love's heart.


	11. Chapter XI

**Another chapter which should begin to tie my story together nicely.**

 **Not sure if i do this in this chapter or the next but for future reference.**

"- _Italics_ -" **Is when the characters speak something other than Japanese (Which is English but cannon is meant to be Japanese), I had been using Latin (badly) but i really cannot be arsed with translating longer speeches. So italics will have to do.**

 **Please follow, comment, review if you like the story, Critique is always welcome as well. Thanks for reading.**

 **Three days since Monica returned, Fukushi's point of view.**

Fukushi has been spending the better part of the day searching for the secret pass he had been told to use by the Ro alliance. The Ro alliance was a group of wealthy nobles to which Fukushi managed to get contacts within. They had been the main sellers of his pages and although he planned to make them pay dearly over crossing him. The one-eyed shinobi still recognised he needed their help. It was a delicate relationship, one with a knife pointing towards both parties but still better than scrambling around the country trying to find those pages. Fukushi had to keep stretching his limbs because of the meditation he had been going through to generate enough chakra for all four of his seals. Meditation was far more efficient than sleeping and had the advantage of using next to nothing to maintain his body and keep aware of his surroundings in case someone managed to find him. Although it sacrificed a healthy balance of spirit and body chakra which made him inefficient in the long run.

Moving along a tight rift in the mountain where a stream had cut the rock into a long narrow snaky chasm of grey rock. He reached a point where the stream exited from the cave. Instead of entering the cave Fukushi began to climb. He worked quickly under the failing light. His katana made some moves difficult but he managed to reach the top which was a higher rift where the stream used to flow once a very long time ago. A few mosses and rare mountain flowers clung from the wind up here and Fukushi continued to venture deeper into the mountain pass. Over time he caught the glimpses of Iwagakure. He could already spy several guarding shinobi with their tell-tail uniform off in the distance. The young shinobi had begun to feel nervous and constantly had to remind himself there was no other way. He knew what he was about to do was equally stupid and difficult. Fukushi crept along the mountain ridge and to a small crevasse where he silently dug some summoned kunai into the ground. As he did so, more segments of the pentagram shone until the whole seal was visible. His hands silently flew through several hand signals and the glowing lines faded to black but still somehow defied touching the ground below. At first nothing happened from Fukushi's jitsu but as soon as he left to climb to a plateau and then into the city the wind changed direction and the distance rumble of thunder echoed around the mountain range.

The one-eyed ninja turned around the rock to see the small plateau. He was expecting it to be empty and have a straight shot to entering the village unnoticed. Instead he found a single male ninja wearing black ninja attire but a white flak jacket with a headband with the symbol for cloud etched into the metal. A katana was still sheathed on his back and he just glared at the new arrival. He noticed the approaching enemy and he stood up straight and folded his arms together.

"This is as far as you go. Turn yourself in and you won't be harmed."

'It was too much to ask for this route to be unguarded' Fukushi thought to himself. He tensed up in preparation and pushed all thoughts of fear aside. "I'm afraid that is not an option for me."

"Very well you leave me with no choice." The man drew his katana. In response, the wind blew Fukushi's cloak to one side revealing his own katana on his hip. Fukushi drew his sword and readied the blade in both of his hands and directly in front. The lightning flashed and more ninja joined the fray. Six to Fukushi's left, trying to utilize his blind spot and four on Fukushi's right. The new arrivals looked like two teams of four in standard marron ninja clothing with brown flak jackets. And two ANBU wearing the same as the others but had their trademark masks to cover their faces.

"You see lightning demon, you were sold out to us by the Ro alliance. We knew you were coming to this very spot and now here you are. Last chance, surrender now!" The cloud shinobi demanded. Fukushi's eye widened in betrayal. He contemplated surrendering and leaving his job to Monica, he mentally slapped himself. If he had been sold out, then so has Monica. Fighting was the only option. Fighting against all odds was his specialty.

"I'm out of time, get the fuck out of my way!" Fukushi roared. Both of the katana wielding ninja leaped up at each other and clashed swords. Fukushi flicked his sword behind him hoping to get a second strike before landing. His second strike was met by his opponents second strike, both of whom thought about the same tactic. the sword strikes showered the battlefield with sparks which gave Fukushi the impression he was against a lightning user. He landed to turn to his opponent and lunged again. The two fought fiercely as both matched each other's speed in parrying strikes. Fukushi spied a second attacker. He stepped to one side and used his interlocked blade to block the second attack. He elbowed the cloud shinobi and pushed his back, swiped from right to left following up to a decisive kick to the second attacker. After pushing back both of his opponents Fukushi heard a few projectiles heading from behind him. His blade deflected the incoming kunai.

"Lightning style: lightning whip." Fukushi saw the arc of blue electricity head towards him. He dodged and flicked a kunai at the cloud lightning user which was blocked by a summoned earth wall. Another attacker, to his left. A Swipe caught the shinobi just as his kunai merely scratched Fukushi's cheek. Fukushi's left hand had already primed a jitsu and he palmed the attacker causing him to be thrown away with explosive force. Before Fukushi could finish off the injured shinobi with a kunai, a second wall protected the burned out man.

Two female jonin jumped to either side of Fukushi. He parried one with his katana while the other was blocked by a summoned kunai in reverse grip. A bright flash of lighting found Fukushi behind one of the women. He was crouched low and she cut the back of her knees with his katana. This caused her to fall now her legs were severed. Fukushi immediately buried his kunai into her neck. He pushed the body into the other woman.

Fukushi turned just as a swipe knocked his katana out of his hand. He saved himself from the second blow from the katana cutting down on his shoulder by a quickly summoned kunai.

"Your summoned weapons are a real pain." The cloud shinobi grunted. Fukushi didn't reply he teleported behind the shinobi in hopes of a third kill but was blocked by a large rock in the shape of a fist. Fukushi looked up to see a rock golem who had proceeded to punch Fukushi hard. With another flash of lightning Fukushi found himself on top of the golem's fist and with a string of hand signs.

"Genus Fulminis: Fulgur unda" A series of lightning strikes struck the ground and quickly advanced on the cloud shinobi forcing him to retreat further away. Fukushi wasted no time in pouring his secondary chakra type into his blade and he ran up the golem's arm to decapitate the stone beast. He landed just as the golem fell to the ground. He looked over to see where the caster was. It was a woman with long blonde hair, one eye covered by it even. She was busy making a second rock golem after her previous jitsu became decapitated. Fukushi teleported in front of the woman who had mistakenly separated herself from any hope of salvation. With two kunai in each hand he swiped at the woman's neck who managed to dodge just in time. But the second attack planted a kunai deep into her chest. Her spasms suggested that the kunai was charged with lightning jitsu. Her insides fried and the blonde woman fell with foam frothing in her mouth.

Fukushi had time to reach to the incoming projectiles. He began a new jitsu.

"Genus Fulminis: Fulgur murum." Four kunai summoned in to right hand and he threw them to the floor. A yellow shield wall rose from the kunai and successfully deflected the incoming barrage of kunai and rocks. Two shinobi tried to flank him around the shield and throw more kunai. Fukushi send through several different signs followed by punching the air towards the kunai. This caused the blades to be knocked somehow and fall harmlessly to the floor. The two ANBU made their move finally and both jumped to either side of Fukushi. They silently began to strike unarmed at Fukushi. His tai jitsu was inferior to the two ANBU and he quickly found himself punched across the plateau by both ANBU simultaneously. Before he could land both ANBU were onto him and disarmed his summoned kunai again with a kick. Fukushi blazed through more hand signs; he was much faster with both free hands.

"Genus Ventus: Ventus Pugno." Fukushi's stance changed as if he was holding a round ball in both of his hands. The next melee consisted of every dodge the ANBU made resulted in Fukushi still hitting them with his chakra, in short, he had increased the range of his fists with his wind chakra. Another bright flash of lightning and Fukushi kicked the back of one of the ANBU with just velocity it caused him to break one of the previously summoned wall. The other ANBU leaped back out of range of Fukushi and begun a jitsu by flicking through hand signs.

"Earth style: muddy swamp." Fukushi realised the ground grew soft and so he jumped as high as he could, he summoned his katana back into his hand in mid-air. No sooner as the yellow summoning banner vanished in smoke, Fukushi threw it to the ground and impaled it into the mud. Gracefully he landed on the hilt and balanced on one foot. Two attackers now circled the mud patch and made ready to strike at him. Fukushi signed for another jitsu and this time several kunai were summoned above his head, two for each target. Each kunai flew at speeds too fast to be thrown. A loud crack signalled their attack. One shinobi skilfully dodge one and threw his own kunai to deflect the other one. However, he was forced to fall back from his attack. The other ninja, the same woman from before who did not get stabbed, deflected one kunai with her own blade. A bolt of electricity from Fukushi's attack coursed through her body rendering her paralysed to defend against the second kunai with struck her in-between the eyes. She was dead before she hit the floor from the sheer force of the attack.

Fukushi glared at the remaining six standing shinobi from his vantage point he gave them a cold look with his remaining eye. He had only used one seal's worth of chakra so compared to his opponents he was in much better shape.

"I am only after one thing in this village, step aside and I won't kill you." Fukushi was able to make his demands. The other ninja felt intimidated by the one-eyed, cloaked figure. One stone jonin even began to lose his moral after the onslaught of his team. They were people he had known for a very long time and honestly had not been expecting to lose them after the war.

"Oh I don't think so." Spoke an elderly man. He had a short stature with wise white and a balding head. He was accompanied with two body guards, one large man who towered above the rest and the other a fair looking woman. The tsuchikage looked up at the cloaked man perching in the hilt of his katana. The wind started to kick up and even a few drops of rain began to splatter across the landscape.

When a drop landed on Fukushi it hissed under the heat from the battle. The one-eyed shinobi closed his eye and took a deep breath. More ninja were now joining the fray. Six he recognised from the leaf, four had a tan-coloured uniforms and what looked to have sand etched onto their metal bands, four more had arrived from the Mist, taking personal offense to the loss of one of their own. An additional twenty from Iwagakure also arrived. Each warrior looked battle hardened and ready for whatever Fukushi could throw at them. His chances of beating all these ninja were very slim and he no longer had the surprise advantage he had been relying on for the majority of his battles.

"Tell me youngster, why do you attack us? One against so many, you're almost insane." The tsuchikage continued. He took a seat on a rock. His loud and commanding voice, especially for someone his age. Demanded answers and everyone was listening to Fukushi's excuse.

Fukushi remained silent and patiently waiting for someone to make a move. He closed his remaining eye and listened to all his opponents. He was hearing their heart beats, the rain splashing against their armour. There was a good few minutes of stalling before someone grew impatient and shouted at the lone figure.

"Answer the Tsuchikage, show some respect or manors damn you _beast_!"

"I don't have time to fight. Don't get in my way and I won't kill you." Fukushi burst out. It had confused many of the newcomers whom from their perspective saw him hopelessly outnumbered. 'About time that jitsu kicked in' Fukushi thought to himself. He had to act quickly in one sweeping motion, any error and he will be destroyed. He took another deep breath, he had been banking his entire plan on Monica leaving small signs to take him straight to where the page was kept. That or summon him should she find it herself. Worst case scenario in his plan was Monica had been taken as a prisoner as soon as she had arrived. Fukushi took a deep breath. The very moment he began to jump down and grab his katana about a dozen ninja fired kunai and jitsu at where he was standing. He vanished in a bright yellow explosion of electricity just as the mass of ordinance struct where he was standing.

The small army of shinobi turned to see where Fukushi had vanished to but no one was expecting the entire valley to be struck by a lightning bolt. Nearly every single building in the village was struck, making it impossible to see where Fukushi had ended up as. Impossible for all but the sixth member of the leaf jonin. He had far superior eyesight and spotted Fukushi running towards the Tsuchikage's tower.

"Naruto lend me your chakra, he's across the village heading to the Tsuchikage's tower." Naruto complied and held the man's shoulder, He vanished as soon as Naruto's chakra was transferred.

"He's heading towards the Tsuchikage's tower!" Naruto roared up. There was a battle cry from some of the jonin as the ninja assault force leaped forward to cover the distance as fast as they could. Giving Fukushi around ten minutes before he was surrounded again.

Fuckishi was now running as fast as he could across the rooftops. He couldn't get any closer without using a more table form of teleportation so he had to leg it for the final few hundred yards. He leaped through a window and barrel rolled across the room. Not caring for the occupancy who were blown back from Fukushi's entrance. He flicked a kunai at the locked door as soon as he got up. The kunai caused an electrical explosion that blasted his get-away open. He burst out of the next window and across the next which had been on a lower plateau. He was making good uninterrupted progress until he heard a voice behind him. Which caused Fukushi to freeze.

"You can really teleport quite some distance, judging from the spectacle just to confuse everyone, it used a lot of chakra didn't it."

"You seem to know how much it uses well, I suppose you can teleport too." Fukushi turned so see his new opponent, which was a mistake.

"Sharingan." The leaf shinobi spoke coldly as if he had just killed Fukushi. Fukushi gasped and clutched his side in intense pain. He collapsed to the floor and breathed heavily from while he tried to get steady. Unfortunately for the aggressor the gen jitsu predictably backfired and caused him to clutch his right eye in agony as well. As Fukushi got up, the cloaked shinobi also took his hand away to reveal the attack caused his closed eye to bleed.

"So you aren't immune after all." The man with the sharingan spoke. "You use your chakra seals as a method of bypassing the effects of gen jitsu, but once they are empty you are vulnerable, am I right?"

"Who are you? How did you know I had those seals?"

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha. Now that I've told you my name, what is yours."

Fukushi was still holding his right side as it ached, Sasuke's sharingan may have been deflected but it had eaten up a whole seal's worth of chakra, if fukushi wasn't careful he would become vulnerable to gen jitsu, and with no other form of defence it would mean certain defeat.

"My name is Fukushi of the Solaris family."

"Never heard of it." Sasuke dismissed. "Where are you from?"

"Nowhere, west from here."

"Who sent you?" Sasuke was getting impatient from the vague answers, but he needed time for his sharingan to stop aching.

"No-one." Fukushi was also wasting time, he began to turn to make a quick escape.

"Who taught you those jitsu?"

"He died." Fukushi leaped backward to turn and run but Sasuke was able to cut him off and swipe at him with his own sword. Sasuke then spun and kicked Fukushi back to where he started on the rooftop. He used his lightning teleport to stop his falling and faced Sasuke while blazing through hand signs. Sasuke had the weird sensation of understanding perfectly what Fukushi was doing despite the new hand signs thrown into the mix. Four kunai were summoned above Fukushi which then proceeded to shoot out at Sasuke with loud cracks. With an uninterested face the Uchiha dodged the four blades. Fukushi responded by repeating the jitsu only this time with eight kunai. Sasuke jumped up and over the eight shots to successfully dodge all of the kunai. He drew his sword and bored it down onto Fukushi who blocked the blow with his own katana. The two glared into each other as Fukushi threw Sasuke off and proceeded to sweep at Sasuke. Dodge after dodge was the only result Fukushi could obtain, being simply not fast enough to land any sort of his on the Uchiha.

Sasuke landed a hit on Fukushi's stomach and knocked him away. Sasuke opened his right eye to reveal his sharingan once more.

"Amaterasu." Sasuke shouted and on command Fukushi burst into black fire. Instead of panicking Fukushi instead teleported in a bright yellow flash to Sasuke's side but he managed to dodge the katana's deadly blade much to Fukushi's annoyance.

"It's a true teleport you do, if you were simply fast those flames would still be burning you."

"If you just stay still I'll tell you all about it in hell."

"I'm not planning on going there just yet." Sasuke spoke calmly despite being in the middle of a skirmish. "You aren't strong enough to take me there either."

"I don't care I must get that page."

"Why?" Sasuke spoke as he dodged volley after volley of thrown kunai. It wasn't until Fukushi closed the distance back into melee with Sasuke did he answer.

"I'm returning what was stolen from me!" His anger was speeding up his attacks to the point Sasuke long since stopped dodging and resorted to parrying the frenzied attacks. Duck, duck, dive, parry, kick, parry. Fukushi had become narrow sighted in trying to land a hit on Sasuke that he didn't notice and orange wearing shinobi with bright yellow hair and a blue ball of chakra in one hand.

"Resengan!" Naruto shouted. Giving Fukushi just enough warning to raid a small lightning shield on his left arm. The two jitsu collided. Fukushi's shield burned bright yellow under the intensity but protected the one-eyed shinobi from the majority of the damage. However, this did not prevent Fukushi being blasted away across the street and through the wall of the building opposite. He was enveloped in the dust kicked up from colliding with the wall.

"Did that defeat him?" Naruto asked, breathing heavily from running fast enough to catch up.

"No." The dust cleared and they both saw Fukushi struggling to get up. The damage was done to his body and he was ready to give in to his fate. He glared out at the two standing shinobi on the rooftop across the street. The left side of his face was covered in his own blood again as he hit the wall hard. He wanted to run and live for another day, clearly, he was overpowered right now. steadying his footing he told himself he had to do this, in the middle of the hornets' nest. With no friends and nowhere to run to. Hell, if he did run what could he do after that. The pages were the only thing that kept him focused and without that drive he was sure he'd unravel there and then. Fukushi gripped his katana tightly in his right hand and a kunai in his left. With a battle cry he charged forward out of the building and he leaped to cross the gap.

He would have made it across and back into the battle if Sasuke with a stoic face whispered the word 'Sharingan'. Fukushi froze in mid-air as the paralysing gen jitsu worked on his body. He had forgotten that his chakra storage had become too low to be effective at repelling the sharingan. Hitting the side of the building brought him out of the gen jitsu but he fell hard to the ground three stories below with his katana clattering to the ground beside him. Fukushi stared up at the rain as it seemed to come down harder than ever to him.

"Sorry.. Father… I couldn't… I.. Failed." He spoke in a whisper to himself. Tears were washed off by the rain. He hardly even registered the shinoibi jumping on him to make sure he couldn't move. He had several kunai and an assortment of other weapons all pointing to him almost daring him to make a move. Fukushi closed his eyes and allowed reality to slip away.


	12. Chapter XII

**Firstly, spell checking, Thanks again to NarHina for keeping me right. Jutsu was a word i saw a million times and didn't realise i had been spelling it wrong. I've always heard the word as Ji-tsu. While where i am from; a 'u' makes it sound like Juh-tsu which sounded wrong to me personally. Also I spell with UK English so S's instead of Z's and the odd U added into various words. But NarHina (and anyone else who noticed) I totally understand why you felt it was annoying, i once read a fiction where 'sign' was spelled as 'sigh' which annoyed me to no end.**

 **Also where it is** "- _Italics_ -" **The majority of characters cannot understand but i've written it so the viewer can understand.**

 **Please keep on reviewing, commenting, following. Again sorry for the spelling mistakes.**

"We have a male who appears to be seventeen years of age. Lineage, unknown, and place of birth unknown."

"You don't know where he is from? Or which village he identifies with?"

"Honestly no, no indications on his person or body."

"What about his injuries, when will he be awake for interrogation?"

"Around a fifth of his body is scar tissue. Small scars which are mainly located on his back suggest torture methods, maybe a whip?" The pink haired Sakura reported as her green jutsu worked over the body of the foreign shinobi. He was still incapacitated and was laying on an operating table, shirtless but with seals covering his own chakra seals and his right eye in fear his teleporting was a kekke genkai. "His major scars to note are two on his face. The first from his left ear to nose, it's older and suggests this is what destroyed his eye. The second is from the base of his cheeks to the forehead. It would have also destroyed his eye had it not already been missing."

"So no chance he was covering a unique kekke genkai? as the reports suggested."

"No." Sakura continued to Kurotsuchi who was obtaining the official report on the 'lightning demon'. "He is blind in his left eye by all definitions of the word."

"Continue with the rest of the injuries."

"As far as scarring goes he has the injury on his right shoulder, it's been cauterised." Sakura shuddered as she remembered how he howled in pain. "It was done by someone who had no training and so the injury became infected but is responding very well to treatment. He also has a scar from an attack which ought to have killed him. Scarring from infront of his heart on his chest and back both suggest he was impaled but was somehow able to recover from the wound, _somehow_." She stressed the word somehow.

Sakura waited for some sort of interruption but after a moment she continued. "The body also has two injuries of intense chakra burns. Honestly, I've only seen burns like this on Naruto. The first site is around the chakra storage seals. I suspect that was the result from defending his body from genjutsu. According to Sasuke Uchiha it was a very blunt method and burned far too much chakra but if it was his only defence it would have been preferable over nothing." Sakura waited for Kurotsuchi to finish writing down some notes.

"The other burn is on his left hand. Confirmation from Hinata Hyuga, shows this injury is caused from sustained chakra damage from leaking chakra in the nodes in his fingers. I suspect that the tattoo up his arm is actually a form of fuinjutsu and plays a role in forcibly opening his chakra in such a manor. For what reason, I do not know. Sasuke also confirmed it played no role in his combat strategy which also unlike what previous reports suggest."

"Any other injuries or observations about this person you could add to the report?"

"His body is badly malnourished, his eyes and his chakra sample also pointed to meditation over sleep. This has meant his chakra has been sub-standard and likely had a significant impact on his fighting ability. He may have been an effective shinobi with unique and powerful justu but he had been pushing himself far beyond his physical capacity. I think if he kept this up he'd only be able to keep up his strength for another month before collapsing from exhaustion. Coupled with his amounting injuries draining chakra; he really was going after those pages with everything he had."

"Thank you, Sakura, you have been a great help. We can take him from here."

"It's been my pleasure, I guess we've all been curious to who he is." Sakura got up to leave Kurotsushi to her report as she was scribbling her own notes down to her notebook.

"Sakura… What are you going to do about Monica?"

Sakura froze for a minute, Kurotsushi's voice was cold as if it demanded a suitable answer.

"We are going to have a talk with her tomorrow, depending her reaction and the testimonies of that man, and Druarni. We will punish her accordingly."

"Good because I am sure you understand our position here."

"I know." Sakura left with a heavy heart. She wished whole heartedly that Monica was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. She passed Sasuki who had arrived just before Fukushi attacked, they hardly had time to talk before the order was given to reinforce the fight. He gave her a quick smile but before Sakura could say anything he had entered the room to where she just had left. She sighed and walked to see the rest of her team.

"Sasuke." Kurotsushi spoke once he entered the room. "Are you able to use the sharingan on this… Fukushi?"

"Are the seals in place and checked? His technique may be blunt but it hurts when he manages to shake you off." Sasuke spoke plainly but Kurotsushi got the message and double checked that the seals were secured on Fukushi's body.

"He isn't awake though, I could call…"

"I'll wait, I could do with a rest anyway." Sasuke snapped a little, still somewhat cold from his actions before Naruto beat sense into him two years ago.

Kurtsushi nodded. "Once you have finished I'd like a full mental report."

"I will." Sasuke took a seat across the room while Kurotsushi left and locked the door behind her. Without wasting any of his time Sasuke slipped into a deep sleep.

After some time had passed; Fukushi woke up slowly to utter darkness from his blindfold. He didn't panic for he had been in this situation before, captured and bound. Fukushi listened carefully to his surroundings and he could hear the quiet breathing of someone asleep. A minute passed, and almost like the other person in the room sensed he was away he too also woke up and Fukushi could hear the other person getting up and approaching him.

"You're awake, great we can talk now."

"That sucks, I have nothing to say." Fukushi snapped after realising it was Sasuke from before, his cool voice was unmistakable. Sasuke ignored his comment.

"Now that you aren't in a rush, why did you attack iwagakure?"

"I doubt politely asking at the gates would have gotten me anywhere."

"Funny, so what was on this page that you mentioned?"

"I don't know!" Sasuke kicked the table next to Fukushi hard with his foot.

"Try again!"

"I mean I don't know specifically what's on the page. You won't be able to read it, and that is the way I'd like it to stay." Fukushi spoke calmly, he had nothing to lose but he still refrained from answering Sasuke fully.

"Another language?"

"- _Yes you asshole, now fucking let me go and I'll kill you for defeating me._ -"

"I see." Sasuke didn't understand the insults but the intent was evident in his voice so in a way he understood. "Asking questions is going to take too long, so I'll tell you what, I'll use my sharingan."

"- _Bastard_.-" Fukushi muttered as Sasuke threw off the blindfold and with his dark red eye he peered into Fukushi's purple eye.

"Sharingan." And the room faded to black.

 **Fukushi's mindscape.**

Sasuke was not sure what he was expecting once he entered Fukushi's mind. Most people had nothing but floating memories but Sasuke was surprised over what he saw. A battlefield bathed in a blood-red light. Bodies were contorted into a range of grotesque shapes all with faces of anger or pain. Sasuke spent a few moments gazing at the horizon it was pretty uniform with very few landmarks or anything of notable interest. However, as Sasuke scanned the mindscape he quickly found large cracks and chasms throughout the landscape. To anyone untrained in mind-walking they would have thought them as part of the landscape but once the 'physics' of the mindscape were broken Sasuke saw the strains of a cracked mind. He continued his search and over time as he looked around he saw two figures that stood a distance apart. One looked like Fukushi himself, he was doubled over and sobbing at the base of the statue. The statue had the symbol of a black sun which appeared to be either setting or rising but the red light made it difficult to tell.

The other figure was a blue haired woman staring longing out into the black void. As a person would wait anxiously at port for a ship to arrive. 'Two personalities?' Sasuke thought to himself. It was his immediate guess. He left the sobbing Fukushi to approach the other 'Fukushi' as he technically hadn't met her yet. He approached the woman slowly so he didn't startle her. She finally noticed someone approaching and Sasuke immediately saw something was wrong with her. As she moved her features flickered. Sometimes changing size or colour, vanishing and becoming corrupted.

"Are you Fukushi's other personality?"

The woman shook her head and spoke. Her voice once was beautiful as Sasuke thought but now it had been corrupted and sounded harsh with static overlaid on top of her voice. It was almost impossible to understand the woman as she spoke but Sasuke's sharingan was able to catch several words by reading her lips.

"You, you were soul bound together?" Sasuke managed to understand as much. His first impression was some sick and twisted idea that Fukushi had on some innocent woman. She nodded and brought up a door seemingly from nowhere. A memory. Sasuke hesitated, the memory had been damaged as with the rest of the world. He entered regardless and he only saw a few images which had survived. The first was an image of two happy kids playing, chasing each other. one had blue hair while the other had Fukushi's brown hair. Standing over them were two adults talking about something important, but the two men were relaxed with each other and the image didn't suggest any tension between the men; 'Friends maybe' Sasuke noted. The second image appeared to be a wedding ceremony. Only the 'bride' and 'groom' Were the same two children. Wearing smart clothes and witnessed by both families and friends. The third image was seemingly a few moments later when both kids were in the centre of a ritualised jutsu, the pair were holding hands as their arms glowed bright yellow on the boy and a pale blue on the woman. Sasuke was then booted from the memory.

The spirit continued on what Sasuke said and described it was important for a pair of children to be bound early so they both flourish together into adulthood.

"So what happened?"

The woman pointed around the landscape, Sasuke immediately understood what the bodies were. Spirits, or more accurately, memories rose up from each body, each person being someone from Fukushi's past. He held onto their memories and judging by how they were manifested in his mindscape, he regretted their deaths.

"A massacre?" He looked down and sighed heavily. His own memories of losing his entire clan to Itachi. He tightened his fists in anger that someone else had the same fate. He heard the spirit speak again. She was talking about the second chance she gave Fukushi.

"So you sacrificed yourself to bring him back from death? Reanimation, I've heard about it but not used in such a way as this." Sasuke looked at her. "It's a powerful jutsu, but a double-edged sword, your death caused a synaptic feedback that destroyed most of his mind. That explains what I am seeing here, but tell me spirit. Why is he after these pages so much?" He was directed to another memory behind him.

Sasuke was thrown into a more complete memory, one where Fukushi was gasping for air and clutching his chest, judging by the amount of blood he had just been saved from a stab through the heart. He was crying and crawling towards his dead blue haired friend. They both had matching arm tattoos at the point. He kissed her forehead and broke down in tears. Rocking his head in pain and scratching at his arm as he must have felt her die. A book was thrusted under him by and an older man. Also, covered in blood. He picked the boy up to his feet and stared him directly into the eyes. The older man knew he wouldn't see him again and the look in his eyes was a mix of pride and sadness.

"Son, protect this book with your life. Let no one use it!" His apparent father also threw his katana by his son's side. What seemed like all his strength he grabbed the blade. At first he stayed still with tears flowing freely down his cheeks. The father also hesitated before pointing at the dead girl. "She gave her life so you could keep going, don't waste it son. Just go. Run!" Fukushi got up and reluctantly turned to run; leaving his father to face off whoever was attacking. "Everyone buy my son time to get away." He roared along with other unseen warriors. Sasuke left the memory.

"Another question if I may ask, how did the pages become scattered?"

The spirit looked down in sadness and mouthed the word 'Betrayal' before pointing to another door. Through the door was Fukushi again. But he was a little older now. Wearing hardly anything to protect his modesty. He was dirty and very thin with bones showing across his body. He was cuddling himself while dragging a sword which was still a little too big for him. He kept quiet and was too shy to approach anyone. He was gazing up at the people as he passed. Sasuke realised he had no idea what anyone was saying after her blanked out some insults once he knocked into someone by accident. He spent the day drifting from one place to another, occasionally hunted a bird or a rabbit to eat. Using jutsu to his advantage. While he was cooking his latest catch a rich looking elderly guy approached. This immediately put Fukushi on guard. However, with slow and deliberate movements the man sat across the fire and spoke to him.

"I was watching you hunt and I'm impressed! Your mastery of jutsu so young." He smiled while Fukushi just gave a blank look. "Oh, you don't understand me? A wild child?" He thought for a moment before producing some bread out of a pouch and handing it to Fukushi. He swiped it out of the man's hand and muttered thanks in a foreign language before hungrily devouring the bread in mere minutes. He got up and signaled to Fukushi to follow him.

"Come with me, I'll help you learn to speak." Fukushi then hesitated but got up after the man after he shown him more food. Sasuke left the scene, He understood what she meant by betrayal now and didn't want to or need to look any further. The fact of the matter was that man did something to push Fukushi into the position he was in, Likely also the man to take his eye out as well.

"Thank you for helping me spirit." Sasuke said while lost in thought about what he was shown. He was cut short by the blue haired spirit's inaudible static for a voice.

"I knew he regretted everyone he has killed." Sasuke spoke "One other question, does he know Monica?" The spirit shifted uncomfortably before speaking again.

"Repaying a debt? Hmm, I understand." Sasuke spoke thoughtfully, he knew she should have just explained herself and the whole situation could have been avoided. But it was too late for her, the evidence was just mounting up against the leaf genin. Sasuke was satisfied of what he had learned about Fukushi and decided to leave and give his report, he could always return to his mindscape. He glanced one last time around Fukushi's mindscape. The likeness to the Uchiha massacre was uncanny for Sasuke to the point being inside Fukushi's mind actually unnerved the shinobi although he would never admit to it. Reality flooded back to Sasuke as he released Fukushi from the genjutsu. He was still unconscious but running down the left cheek was a line of blood where he must have been crying whilst under the influence of Sasuke. He sighed and thought about his own redemption, He knew Fukushi's path well but also perhaps he could turn him into a powerful ally. The sheer diversity of jutsu he used against his opponents was clearly jonin level or maybe higher if he had more training. His mind was made, he would follow Naruto's example and turn him into an ally.


	13. Chapter XIII

**Remember to review, comment, follow and such. Opinions and critiques are all welcome. Still looking for pictures for my profile and story image.**

 **The day after Fukushi attacked.**

Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru were walking Monica, Dentsu, and Nago back to the archives for another day of searching. They figured keeping the team close was the safest approach in case someone believed the rumour that Monica was in league with the lightning demon. The leaf jonin were still in denial as they prayed their ninja to have stronger will than to abandon the village in such a way. Pride was a dangerous weapon and the tension in the air was suffocating the six ninja. No one felt like tackling the problem around them as a wrong move could destroy any trust they had among each other.

"Where's Sakura?" Naruto asked casually, he would have probably come to a conclusion of sorts himself but he wanted to break the tension in any way possible.

"She's on medial duty, some Jonin were injured last night." Shikamaru spoke briefly before talking became too much of a bother for him to continue, Naruto got his answer any way. At least they did not have to break the news of last night's events to the genin team. If the large lightning storm wasn't a clue, then the boasts of various Iwa shinobi about their 'role' in defeating the demon. Boasts about how they over powered him and he was helpless against their might. In reality the ones who actually fought the demon, Fukushi, were silent as they realised if they hadn't had the reinforcements all eleven of them would surely have died. Unlike the boastful ninja they had respect for the young aggressor as he had showed them such a variety of ninjutsu first hand. Shikamaru and Hinata were keeping careful tabs on Monica. Out of the ninja there they would be able to read any changes in emotion or if she was about to do something; stupid. Naruto was less subtle and so relied on Shikamaru's orders.

Meanwhile Kurama was smiling excitedly. His fox-y grin adorned his face from ear to ear, much like Naruto's trademark grin. He could tell Monica was having a huge conflict of emotions. One minute she was angry, the next depressed and then followed by fear, anticipation and strangely excited. What made Kurama's game all the more fun to watch was her poker face was managing to fool everyone, yes she slipped every so often but luck was on her side and she kept up the façade. His tails thrashing, he couldn't wait to see how it would turn out. He was hoping for her to practically explode and attack someone, break something, or just outright collapse after an emotional rage.

"You're unusually happy." Naruto appeared in his mindscape to talk to Kurama. It helped pass the time as they walked in silence towards the Tsuchikage's tower to visit their archives.

"Oh, I just have a good feeling about today." He spoke with a hint of mischief in his voice.

"You know something I don't?" Naruto sounded somewhat annoyed but he passed it as Kurama trying to mess with him again.

"A Biju is allowed to feel good you know." He spoke defensively but quickly reformed his smile.

"Sorry Kurama, I guess I am still used to you being angry all the time."

"I get bored in here, no one to play with."

"I hope by play you don't mean eat."

Kurama laughed at that before admitting something. "It might involve eating. Anything is better than damn ramen." He teased.

"You're addicted." Naruto jousted back, before returning to reality, they had arrived at the archives. Naruto was referring to a time not long after the forth shinobi war were once he had taken down the seal and allowed Kurama greater freedom. Part of this also meant sharing sensory experiences and he actually tasted ramen for the first time. Coupled with Naruto's influence he started asking for a large variety of meat related ramen dishes. Kurama had calmed down somewhat and rested his head on his paws as he returned to observing the world from Naruto's perspective.

The six ninja had finally reached the archives. A large underground room which seemed to stretch on throughout the village. The room was well lit and had two main 'corridors' in a cross pattern which was space for long lines of desks and their accompanying chairs. The rest of the room has shelves stocked full of boxes up to the roof. The team walked towards the back. They had almost finished a quarter of the room in four days and Shikamaru was hopeful he would manage it today. Naruto was less enthusiastic about searching. He was told to not use any jutsu in fear it accidentally damaged the documents. This meant Naruto couldn't use his shadow clones which, and everyone admitted to it, would have made searching so much faster.

The genin were not allowed to read any of the documents but they were only allowed to read the summary page to see if it had any potential. Of course, the jonin were permitted to study anything within the room. There were not any secret jutsus or artefacts stored here so the information was relatively safe and already largely known as per alliance agreements. The genin were able to search faster because of this while Shikamaru and Hinata were both slowed down by the longer reading. Naruto was predictably nodding off earning him the occasional squeeze on the thigh by Hinata before Shikamaru noticed. He did notice but more likely he thought it was too much of a hassle to bother with. After all a desk job was right up his street so he enjoyed reading the dull administration material.

Hours ticked by which would have been alike the previous days had Monica not started showing signs of panic. She was blazing through each box, glancing at the contents before muttering her disappointment. She had begun to sweat now and getting increasingly careless as the news of Fukushi's failed attack had finally sunk in. The long hours had left her deep in thought which did not help keep her composure. Nago and Dentsu kept behind her and quickly tidied up after she rushed through a box. They had seen her get pushed too far before and they were trying to mediate between not enraging her and not alerting the others. The pair suddenly snapped to face Monica who squeaked excitingly. She looked around and pulled out two stained pages with writing that neither Nago nor Dentsu could read.

"Finally." She muttered before quickly laying the pages on the floor and signing through her storage jutsu. Monica worked quickly unless she was caught by the jonin. She bit her lip and tried to dull her chakra down as much as possible. She successfully stored the pages with a dull flash and some smoke, as little as she could manage. Nago looked at her with curiosity he noticed that jutsu was a little different from the last time he saw her use the storage jutsu. 'Did she change the jutsu to get a slightly different effect?' Then realisation hit him like a rock thrown at his face. Those were the pages we were looking for!

Before anyone could utter a word Monica practically heard someone's heart break from behind her. She turned. It was Hinata who had heard Monica squeak and came around to look. She saw her use the jutsu although didn't see the pages, Hinata still guessed and guessed correctly.

The lavender-eyed Hyuuga fell backwards and landed on the floor. The bang caught the attention of Naruto, who jumped up to her side in a blink of an eye. And Shikamaru who didn't move but unknowing to the genin his shadow was creeping towards them.

"T-they were right, those r-rumours. Why Monica." Hinata spoke as if she saw a ghost. Naruto caught on and gave them a disappointing look.

Monica was muttering 'shit shit shit' under her breath. The orange haired genin felt like she was going to become the laughing stock of the whole shinobi world. Her luck had run out and she was struggling to come up with an escape plan. For one of the riskiest part of her plan she had neglected a contingency strategy. A voice in her subconscious became the dominant one in her head. It told her to use her teammates as a hostage. She agreed with herself. A hostage would be the only way she could escape a hopelessly one sided fight. She flinched and a summoned kunai slipped into her hand but before she should jump behind Dentsu, who was closer, something made her freeze and she struggled to move. Her kunai was forced from her hand and it clattered to the floor. The echoes caught the attention of Dentsu and Nago who were also stunned at being caught _helping_ her. The pair realised something was wrong as Monica shook against the restraints.

Shikamau walked calmly around the corner and while he glanced at her with one eye he softly spoke. "Shadow possession complete." Against her will she was walking towards the jonin. She started to cry at the ease of her defeat. One move and that was it, caged. Dentsu and Nago did nothing. They stood and bowed their heads in shame. Monica looked to them to help her out but with a shadow covering her mouth she could only speak with her eyes. Her teammates looked away and abandoned her to her fate once more. She slumped in defeat but Shikamaru's shadows kept her walking towards them.

Naruto stood up, visibly shaking in anger. He didn't want to believe the Monica hadn't only just betrayed their village but armed herself against her own comrades.

"Do you have any idea what damage you have done? How selfish are you to put a lust for power before your friends and village?" He demanded and slapped the genin once she was within range.

"Naruto!" Hinata cried, surprised that he would hit her.

"No, she needs to learn. Her selfish acts could have damaged the reputation of our village and the shinobi alliance your _cousin_ had died for." Hinata fell silently, she hated when Naruto was upset, he would get angry. Mostly at himself but through no fault of his own Kurama still had influence over Naruto. He took a deep breath once he noticed Hinata was hurt by what he said. The blond Jinchuriki turned to Monica.

"You disgust me." He said coldly as Shikamaru marched her towards the door. She had a red hand print across her face and was now sobbing even harder into the shadow gag. Naruto had regained his composure and made a mental note to berate Kurama for not telling him anything about Monica.

"Could you bring Nago and Dentsu, they have some explaining to do." Shikamaru called after him. As Naruto looked down ashamed.

"Sorry for snapping Hinata I stepped way over the line." He said quietly. He offered a hand to help her up and as she got up she gave Naruto a quick hug to forgive him. They both turned to the remaining genin who were shifting uncomfortably but approached their superiors. "I guess our job here is done." Naruto sighed. He could feel Kurama being a little disappointed that there wasn't as much drama as he would have liked.

"Naruto? I understand why you're angry. Just, just please stay the same. Don't change." She spoke softly before the two genin could hear. Naruto was ashamed of himself but sighed once more before giving the girl a smile to show he's calm.

"Sorry, still getting the balance of emotions here." Kurama helpfully yet quietly added so Hinata could forgive Naruto faster. He wouldn't hear the end of it otherwise if Naruto lost her over an outburst.

"W-whats going to happen to us?" Dentsu asked shyly and staring at the ground.

"Nothing bad, so long as you explain yourself to the Hokage." Naruto spoke normally to them which calmed them both down as he wasn't going to snap at them. "Though I don't know what will happen to Monica, she'll be in trouble with both villages now." Naruto sighed. "At least it's over now."

Monica was thrown into her room by Shikamaru who locked the door as soon as he left.

"If you try to leave you will be hurt. I'm going to get Sakura and maybe Sasuke if he's still here. You will give us those pages then we will have a very long chat about what the hell you were thinking." Shikamaru called through the door, he too was disappointed but it wasn't like he hadn't planned for her going rogue. Monica fell to the fall and curled up. What was she thinking, why did she do it? At the time, it seemed fine she was just helping her saviour. Repaying debt. She finally knew what Fukushi meant by if she was sure about what she wanted. Did he know? Was she stupid?

"Stop laughing!" she shouted at the wall which would have confused anyone who heard her. However, there was no one to hear her. She cried for a few more minutes before hearing the protests of Nago and Dentsu.

"She is going to kill us, please we beg you don't leave us." A panicked Nago was shouting out.

"Shikamaru put a jutsu on the door, she's not going to come out. Please stay here we will be ten minutes. I promise." Hinata was trying to comfort them before, presumably, Naruto closed and locked the door. Faintly she heard him say 'shadow clone jutsu' as Naruto left a pair of guards to their accommodation. Like and enraged tigress as soon as she heard her teammates left alone she leaped at the door and banged loudly on it.

"You betrayed me again!" She screamed which obviously had the two ninja hiding in terror. They weren't so sure about Shikamaru's seal on the door as the wood flexed under her pounding. Her screaming became inaudible before she collapsed and carried on sobbing. Her throat burned now from being damaged which caused her to cough and splutter. Nago and Dentsu had no doubt, she had lost it. They sat in silence thinking about what they should have done right from the start. If anything would have changed if she never was knocked out that day.

The same commanding voice in her head showed again. Monica stopped crying and realised she was given ten minutes at least. Not all was lost, she had the pages still as no one knew how to force her to give them up from within her jutsu. First, she summoned her equipment she stored from when she was with Fukushi a week ago. Her wakizashi was tied to the small of her back. She hid it there for two reasons. She could quick draw her weapon in a reverse holding position which was perfect for blocking. Second, she could hide it in her cloak which she was busy tying around her neck. Her old scar down her left of her neck was still visible but she was now used to her look. She thought about what to do with her headband. Many rogue ninja had their headband scratched out. Alternatively she could just leave it. 'No time' she thought to herself and just left it on her forehead.

 **Meanwhile somewhere in Tsuchikage's tower. Around an hour before Monica was caught.**

Sakura was busy drawing each of Fukushi's Fuuinjutsu that she could identify. She had learned that the tattoos reacted well to chakra so she was able to tell between what appeared to be cultural markings, according to Sasuke who was using his sharingan one last time before he left, and the Fuuinjutsu. Fukushi had been drugged up by other interrogators sometime in the morning. They had almost caused an overdose before Sakura had to chase them out. He was at the point where he had lost most of his bodily functions. She found out why the interrogators got so angry. The truth serum they used had actually worked. Unfortunately, too well has Fukushi spoke freely about his plans but in a language other than Japanese rendering his information useless. Sakura was doing more of her report while making sure Fukushi remained alive.

Sasuke eventually released Fukushi from his genjutsu hold. He turned to see Sakura making sure she got the sketch correct. He much preferred the hard-working Sakura over the fangirl personality she used to have. It made him appreciate her a whole lot more than before he left for Orochimaru.

"Did you find what you wanted to know Sasuke?" Sakura spoke without looking up from her clip board writing down some notes.

"Yes, I've found someone who's willing to tell me anything, although not much is good about it."

"Found someone?" Sakura questioned Sasuke's vagueness.

"Don't tell anyone because this is Hokage level report, but seeing it's you, Kakashi trusts and I trust you." Sasuke sighed. The seal on his left arm that he is drawing is a soul bounding seal. His 'partner' died causing the jutsu be incomplete. Whether you count this lucky or unlucky. He survived having his mind torn but her soul is still alive within him albeit a shadow of who she used to be. More like a guide to what's left of his mind. Sh'es who I've been speaking to."

"Soul bound? Is that even possible?"

"Apparently, ask Ino if you want to see her for yourself once we get him to Konoah. I'm going there now to see if I can make it happen." He walked out of the door and quickly flicked Sakura on the forehead, it stunned her. But her love walked away before Sakura could collect herself. "Oh, and I'll see you once you return to Konoah."

Sakura was tempted to add what Sasuke told her but remembered he asked her not to tell anyone so she mocked ignorance on the report. There she sat while the drugged-out shinobi tried in vain to compose himself. Fukushi felt he was too drunk to feel safe about himself, moments from blacking out and having no fun with his time tied to the table and blindfolded. He felt he was going to be sick and despite not moving he felt like someone was spinning him around the table.

"Sakura, we need to talk." Sakura almost jumped as she wasn't expecting Shikamaru at the door. She turned to see Hinata and Naruto also with him.

"Is it ok to say it here or should we go outside."

"Outside." Shikamaru replied with a blank stare. Sakura got up and left with the other three teammates. Once outside she noticed everyone was looking upset. The face of Naruto reminded her of when Sasuke left the village. She sighed and looked at her feet.

"Should we all go and talk to her?" Sakura suggested, she understood perfectly why everyone was here.

"What about him?" Naruto motioned at the door where Fukushi was still tied up.

"He's still drugged out, and bound so I doubt he is going anywhere. Let me just tidy up quickly and we can go." Sakura reentered the room and within second of her opening the door there was a quick flash of yellow light followed by Sakura screaming. Naruto and Hinata leaped through the door to see Sakura covering her eyes with one hand and with the green medical jutsu in her other hand she was healing her eyes up.

"What happened?" Naruto asked.

"He's gone!" Hinata shouted and pointing to the now empty table. with all his seals scattered across the table where he once lay.

"I don't know." Sakura muttered still trying to blink her vision back. "I was looking right at him when it happened."

"That's a drag, I thought his teleporting was based on his line of sight." Shikamaru sighed heavily. "So where did he go?"

Just as he said that Naruto flinched. "He's with Monica! My clones just got disbanded by him."

Everyone looked in disbelief and immediately started running back to where they kept Monica.

"Do you think they planned this?" Hinata suggested.

"I think they must have had a way of meeting each other." Shikamaru replied. 'There's more to his teleporting than we thought. This is going to be costly'. The four jonin rushed in the lobby of the Tsuchikage's tower and met with the four sand chunin.

"What's going on?" Matsuri asked. She was startled by the four leaf jonin suddenly bursting through the door.

"He escaped." Naruto shouted back not stopping to explain fully. However, the sand chunin understood and with a nod they ran after the leaf ninja.

"We will help you." Matsuri called out, she got no reply but a nod from Naruto as they made their way up to the roof of a nearby building. Mitsuoni, Atalre, and Silent Geno followed their leader and quickly caught up to the rushing shinobi. They were about to head towards the hotel where Monica was before Silent Geno patted Atalre on his shoulder and nudged his head somewhere to the right.

"He's over by the wall." Atalre shouted just as the roll of thunder that came from lightning rumbled past the ninja. The eight ninja jumped off and headed towards the wall, they weren't going to let the escape so easily.

* * *

 **Decided** **to add this at the bottom so people are more likely to remember this as the last thing they read. I would appreciate at least a couple answers for this. Thanks.**

 **Out of curiosity how do people like their lemons? I am thinking of adding some in the next act (won't say who but you could probably guess.)**

 **So would you like them:**

 **Explicit (full on lemon tree)**

 **Inferred** **(A little zesty goodness but no details)**

 **Ignored (Not include them in the story unless paramount to the plot line (like i've done in previous chapters or perhaps not even that))**


	14. End of Act I Chapter XIV V2

**Just hit 3000 views :D which i am happy about considering I haven't been following conventional Fan-Fic tactics. Though i have an idea of the second story which may be good once i get around to polishing the details. As for this I am starting to get an idea for Act 3. Also so far i've had two people ask for full lemons, If its something you feel strongly against please tell me. Or support the zesty goodness. But i have been thinking of implementing the lemons for some time now. I have been reading many other peoples fan-fics which has helped me get a better idea of how things work.**

 **Please continue to comment and review my work, I am trying to improve my writing all the time. As sometimes i feel this is very rough work, but so long as someone enjoys it, I am happy.**

 **Edited, Version 2.**

Fukushi and Monica burst in a bright flash onto the village wall. Fukushi immediately doubled over and vomited bile in front of him. Monica also felt dizzy from the jutsu but she couldn't imagine what the drugs did to Fukushi's head.

"Urg I need to practice teleporting with someone more." Fukushi tried to stand but was too dizzy to be steady. Monica sensed danger and spun around while taking out her wakizashi in a reverse grip and parried a female ninja who had been nearby guarding the wall, she was younger than Monica so maybe a genin. Monica swiped he with a summoned kunai in her left hand, she missed but it forced the genin far enough away for Monica to get her jutsu ready. She used her left hand to perform one handed signs while keeping armed. Something she had been practicing.

"Fire Style: Fireball." Monice thrusted her palm out and a blue fireball struck the enemy in her chest. An attack she used against Nago four days ago. Alike Nago the genin was thrown back with a wisp of smoke coming from her wound. Monica heard someone else approach and as she spun she catapulted the same fireball past her ear and struck the second genin before he even got close. She helped pick Fukushi up who was breathing deeply and trying to focus as much as possible.

"Come on if we doing get away now, I'll lose everything, and you'll everything again. All our work to get this far, don't fall just outside their wall." She brought him in for a rough kiss which Fukushi accepted and kissed back but in mere second he pushed her away. Before Monica could object a kunai flew in-between them. Fukushi spun to return three of his own kunai, two deflected more oncoming projectiles while the third implanted deep into the wall where the ninja was hiding.

"Missed" Fukushi muttered as the pair continued to deflect and return fire. It wasn't long before someone used a jutsu. No one heard who casted it but three large boulders were launched into the air and headed straight for the wall which Monica and Fukushi stood on. In a blink of an eye Fukushi signed a jutsu and threw four kunai around them and erected his lightning shield. His defence worked as the rocks crashed into his shield and as it glowed angrily the stone crumbled and fell harmlessly in a ring around the pair. However, much to the dismay of the ninja of the stone their targets were no longer there as off to the distance a lightning bolt was seen. A second later eight flashes of leaf and sand shinobi flew past them. Almost too quick to see their features but their colour gave them away.

Fukushi and Monica landed in the middle of a road which stretched away. Fukushi's Jutsu had taken its toll and he had fell to his knees and stared at the floor breathing heavily. He could only just hear Monica pleading for him to get up. In his head, he was weighing up chakra levels, he still had his own and half a seal left but his body had reached its limit. Meditation and taking things slowly was fine for a week but he had been on high alert for nigh on three months. Fukushi knew he needed to rest, to rebuild his chakra balance and heal his body from the continuous strain. He knew he had to keep going so he grabbed the dirt and pushed himself up. Monica was watching him like a hawk but calmed down once she saw him getting up.

"We don't have much of a head start we need to go!"

"Monica, I'm in no shape to run fast, they will catch up."

"I'm not leaving you if that's what you're asking. I'm in too deep now, they all see me as a traitor."

"So we're both fucked?"

Monica bit her lip for a moment. "You go, I can distract them. I owe you my life remember." Monica said calmly. But Fukushi shook his head.

"You don't owe me anything, you've done more than anyone has for me most of my life." Fukushi gave her a smile and she thought she saw a tear from his right eye. Her suspicion was proven correct as a red tear from his left eye followed up. He pulled her in for a hug and kissed her forehead. "Sorry for allowing you to join me so easily. It's my fault that you were branded a traitor."

"Don't be, I've never felt this free before." She whispered. The two let go of their embrace. Fukushi was right neither of them could run so they stood side by side and readied their weapons. They both took a deep breath and were ready to die. From the pine trees, which surrounded them, eight ninja emerged. Naruto, Hinata, Shikamaru, Sakura, Matsuri, Mitsuoni, Atalre, and Geno. All eight stood in a semi-circle around the wanted shinobi and the rouge leaf ninja.

"Do not under-estimate the male, He's considered S-rank and has been teaching the girl, Matsuri, Mitsuoni, Take care of the girl. Naruto, Hinata Atalre and Silent Geno take care of the man, use teamwork and do not let him get behind you. Sakura and myself are on support." Shikamaru commanded and the rest nodded. The two female sand shinobi quickly moved to one side to get a better attack angle.

Fukushi readied his katana and felt Monica move to his back so they couldn't be flanked. Neither of them thought they would escape out of this fight alive. Fukushi was strong but pushed to his limit and Monica simply wasn't skilled enough yet to face off the most powerful ninja in the world.

"Just give up, you're outnumbered and you're in no shape to keep going." Sakura shouted.

"Not an option!" The pair spoke in unison.

"You think you can commit all those crimes and just walk away?" Atalre of the sand called out.

"Better than going back to a prison cell to be used by others." Fukushi gritted his teeth and lunched at the four ninja. Hinata, who was unarmed stepped back as Naruto and Atalre blocked the katana with a kunai and naginata respectfully. Silent Geno slipped in behind Fukushi and attempted to throw a punch but Fukushi twisted and slashed him back with his summoned kunai. Hinata jumped in and palmed his stomach. Fukushi could feel she turned off a chakra node as a burning pain radiated from her blow, as if his chakra no longer flowed to that part of his body. Fukushi dodged a few more of her blows and before he could strike her, Hinata jumped back to let Naruto throw two kunai before striking at his neck. Fukushi slashed his neck before Naruto burst into a puff of smoke. It was a clone. Turning back to the sand shinobi, Fukushi threw his sword at Geno who caught it in his hands before dropping it as if it was hot. This had ruined Atalre's timing as he lunged his naginata. Atalre scratched Fukushi's cheek as his dodged just in time. Now he had free hands with his right he yanked the naginata and pulled Atalre into his kunai. The sand shinobi fell back but in a pink flash, Sakura grabbed him out of the combat to heal him before he died.

Fukushi noticed the shadows were acting abnormally.

"Monica avoid the shadows!" He called before throwing a kunai to the floor in front of the shadow. In a flash of lightning the shadow dispersed away from him. He turned just in time to see Hinata and Naruto perform a well-timed double punch that landed on his chest and knocked him back across the road. Fukushi coughed up blood and his body started to scream at him to give up. He managed to stand and face the two leaf shinobi who were glaring at him.

"Tell me, how did you get Monica to betray her village? Genjutsu?"

"If it makes you feel any better, I didn't use any jutsu on her! She followed me on her own two feet, I made sure of that." The one-eyed Shinobi called out. Most of the time he wouldn't answer to talking in the battle, but this time any talking would buy him recovery time.

"Why should I believe you? You tricked her." Naruto shouted back.

Fukushi smiled. "I can't use genjutsu, that's why."

Naruto's anger boiled and he shouted. "Shadow clone jutsu. I'll knock that smile off your face!" Twenty or so Naruto's jumped at Fukushi as soon as they appeared and started sparing with the man. He put up a good fight and dispelled half the clones with his kunai. Fukushi had been punched a few times but he stood firm and weathered the attack.

"Genus Fulminis: Fulgur unda" A ring of lightning strikes hit the ground next to Fukushi. The clones not hit where then struck by a second lightning strike before they could react to the danger. Among the smoke several kunai fired out with loud bangs and impaled the remaining clones. The wind carried off the smoke to reveal an exhausted looking shinobi.

"Why do you want those pages so badly?" Shikamaru called out from the forest edge. The lightning strikes had messed up his shadows a second time so tried to buy time while they creeped up to Fukushi. "You're literally killing people for them." Fukushi turned and threw a set of kunai in Shikamaru's direction. He realised once he threw them that Shikamaru could throw his voice as his ordinance struck several trees harmlessly. "Answer me, why do you value those pages so much!"

Fukushi blocked Geno who tried to strike at him before using his lightning palm jutsu to blow him away in a crackle of sparks.

"I fucked up!" Fukushi admitted. His frustration rose and two clones of Naruto also had a go at him. He saw Geno recover from the attack as well. "The entire situation is _my_ fault and I _will_ find and return those pages which were stolen from me. no matter the cost."

"Why what's on them?" Naruto shouted as he slashed at Fukushi once more but while dodge his accidently positioned himself for Hinata to strike his right arm and cause it to go numb. He kicked Hinata in the stomach and jumped back. Another mistake he landed in Shikamaru's shadows and paralysed him. Fukushi realised but thought to play it off with more talking so no one could tell he was unable to defend himself.

"Because some of those missing pages contain death jutsu." He smiled a more of an insane grin as he saw everyone look in horror and confusion.

"W-what does it do?" Naruto stammered.

"What does it sound like?" Fukushi still smiled.

Inside Naruto, Kurama noticed something in his expression and roared. "Naruto, clones, and swap with them. Now!" His deafening voice snapped Naruto out from his thoughts.

"Shadow clone jutsu!" Naruto shouted and a split second later Fukushi was next to Naruto. Fukushi slashed Naruto twice with a kunai in each hand. He kicked Naruto into the air and before he could fall, Fukushi summoned four kunai above his head and all four impaled the blonde. He heard Hinata cry in sheer horror but the body of Naruto puffed into smoke.

"Wrong one! Rasengan Shuriken!" He threw the spinning ball of chakra.

"Genus Fulminis: Fulgur murum." And Fukushi brought up a wall of energy. The wall was angled to deflect the blow rather than facing it head on. From experience Fukushi knew he couldn't handle that attack directly. The rasengan struck the wall and both glowed angrily under the intense attack. The attack used up a lot of Fukushi's chakra but he held on long enough for the ball to be flung into the woods, slicing whole trees in half before detonating in the middle of the woods, taking more trees out with it.

Fukushi grabbed his katana which was not too far from his feet and glared at his attackers. He would have been intimidating but he was breathing heavily and wobbled from exhaustion. His skin on his right shoulder and stomach glowed a fierce red from Hinata's strikes. His cover on his eye had fall off from a strike on one of Naruto's clones revealing scars where his eye once was. Fortunately, his left eye was closed which spared the worst of the gore. He looked a lot like Kakashi used to only without a mask and the long grey hair.

"I'd rather kill the eight of you here than allow anyone to use those pages. That is why I fight, why I can't just give up and turn myself in!"

"But you could have just gone to one of the great villages?" Hinata suggested while readying herself to attack again. "You could have avoided all of his."

With Venom in his voice Fukushi spat out. "I couldn't even fucking speak Japanese when I got here. What do you think would have changed?" Fukushi straightened up and pushed passed his pain barrier to challenge the group again. Naruto's attack had drained Fukushi to about two thirds of chakra left. "I would have been raped and abused either way. You think that just because you have headbands you wouldn't use me for the jutsu? Please, I've been that naive once and it's taken me to here!"

Fukushi vanished in a flash of lightning only to reappear behind Hinata with his katana ready to impale the white eyed woman. She would have been killed too had Sakura not covered her with a punch to Fukushi's face. Her raw strength would have shattered the jaw of most men but Fukushi was just blasted down the road, a good fifteen meters. Much to everyone's shock, Fukushi grabbed onto Hinata and as he was torn away from Sakura, he pulled the white-eyed girl with him. She didn't hit the ground nearly as hard but bounced along and stopped nearer to Fukushi than Sakura. Fukushi was quicker to his feat and casted a jutsu before anyone could reach Hinata.

Bright yellow fuuinjutsu covered Hinata's body, not too dissimilar to Fukushi's tattoos. She was trying to get up but the burning of the jutsu caused her to cry out in pain and fall back to the floor. Small wisps of smoke radiated off her clothes where they were getting singed by Fukushi's Jutsu. He smiled over his victory. Naruto gave a growl of a beast about to pounce. Similarly, Sakura, Geno and Shikamaru surrounded Fukushi. Hinata was hurting from the jutsu, she tried her best to bite back the pain but every move resulted in her skin burnt with the heat of a hot iron.

However the fatigue was catching up to Fukushi. His chakra waned and he couldn't hold the jutsu for as long as he hoped for.

"- _Fuck-_ " He muttered as he took a wobbly step back to try and grant him some distance, he readied his katana for the onslaught that was an enraged Hyuuga.

"Eight trigrams: one-hundred and twenty eight palm." She cried out as Fukushi braced for the jutsu. He had to fend her off but his body was starting to feel numb and slow. "Eight palms." Fukushi saw her coming in for a close-range assault. He swapped his katana for the reverse grip in an effort to block her attack. First eight strikes were sucessfuly blocked and he avoided any damage to his chakra network. Although Hinata had to dodge the blade herself as she was unarmed. "Sixteen palms." Hinata struck faster, tears falling freely as she poured her anger and pain into the attack.

Fukushi was struggling to keep up and in three consecutive hits, Hinata disarmed him. Fukushi responded by continuing with raw taijutsu. He had suffered three hits to his right arm and one to his neck this time. The one eyed shinobi tried to summon a kunai but Hinata immediately struck it with her gentle fist and the blade was disrupted and burst into smoke. "Thirty two palms." Her speed increased further but before she could land a good hit on her opponent. Fukushi lashed out and grabbed her throat with his left hand. Ignoring the fact his move gave her free four hits to his chest. He ignored the pain and threw her to the floor.

"You dare touch Hinata?" Naruto shouted as he ran towards the tired shinobi. His anger was seething again after the attempt on her life. He had been fueled by the sudden wave of fear of actually losing her as he wasn't close enough to get to her in time and if Sakura hadn't of jumped in…

"Resengan!" Naruto yelled at the top of his voice. Fukushi saw the incoming ninja armed with a spinning blue ball of chakra. He forced himself to get stead and picked up his katana with his left hand. Despite his numbed reflexes he was able to hold the blade in both hands. His opponent was a step closer, the remaining vision in his right eye momentarily blacked out. The air grew thick and his leg gave way. He gazed up at Naruto who was about to bring down the resengan.

"Fukushi get up!" Monica screamed, She saw him fall and rushed in between him and the resengan. Monica grabbed Naruto's wrist and tried to push him off. The strength difference was obvious as inch by inch the blue ball of chakra pushed closer to Monica. What felt like several painful minutes, she was finally forced onto her knee and Naruto kept up his onslaught. Monica was sweating from the heat given off by his chakra but still refused to budge. A strand of wind chakra cut into Monica shoulder. She cried out in pain only for more and more cuts sliced into her flesh. Blood welling up and dripping down her front. With a loud cry she pushed Naruto off to her right who immediately spun and kicked her in the face. Naruto had to jump back, he had to grab Hinata as a flood of fire poured from where she was crouching and heading straight for where Hinata was laying. Naruto carefully laid Hinata down by Sakura who quickly checked for damage, only whiplash from being thrown by the neck.

The blond shinobi closed his eyes and his body quickly coated itself in a bright orange cloak of chakra. He opened his eyes across the blue fire, Revealing his pupils were a fierce dark red. He channeled his chakra into a resengan once more but as he formed the ball it grew in size and the shape changed into a large shuriken. He threw it at the pair who were clearly unable to dodge. His attack probably wouldn't kill them but certainly damage their bodies severely as the wind chakra would attack their very cells.

Monica bit her lip and closed her eyes. Concentrating hard she signed a long string of hand signs. She had one shot at this and the incoming wind shuriken rasengan could not distract her. A split second before impact she leaped on top of Fukushi and the explosion of Naruto's attack made a deep, large creator. Almost completely bisecting the road. All of her fire was put out and the eight attacking shinobi stood in morbid silence, some were in awe of his powerful attack which he managed to throw across to them. Once the smoke and dust settled the ninja looked on in horror. The creator was empty. No bodies were found.

Naruto slumped to the ground. Hinata was almost killed and he had nothing to show for it. "God fucking damn it!" He swore. He was sure Fukushi was too exhausted to teleport out.

"Did anyone see a lightning strike?" Shikamaru asked, with a little urgency.

"No." Sakura admitted. "But i did see more of Monica's fire."

"Hell, i think she's been taught to teleport as well, this is just going to get worse before it gets better. Alright spread out and find them. I doubt they have energy to fight but go in pairs." Shikamaru ordered as the team leader. The two sand ninja who had been fighting Monica to a stalemate limped in pain as they both suffered bruises but nothing major that requires attention. Matsuri walked up to Shikamaru.

"I'm sorry we tried to block her but she just bolted to quickly for use to effectively stop her."

"You did your best, but now we need to find them. I have a feeling Monica isn't so proficient with her skills yet. So we are at an advantage right now.

The four leaf and four sand shinobi spent the next hour searching the nearby landscape for the two injured shinobi. Shikamaru organised them into likely spots visible from the road where Naruto struck them. Despite their best efforts, everyone returned empty handed

"What was that about?" Naruto asked once everyone had returned. He was referring to Monica blocking his attack. "Monica really did risk everything to save him, I just don't understand why she would go this far."

"He's alone." Sakura replied. "To answer your earlier question, Naruto, I don't think that he did anything to Monica but rather Monica saw his pain and would rather turn away from her village than to allow him to suffer alone."

"The Tsuchikage will not be happy with a failed mission. This is going to be a drag." Shikamaru sighed as the eight ninja turned towards the village.

End of Act I

* * *

 **Last chance to vote, once i start writing i'm not going to go back over it.**

 **Explicit ~ Lemon tree**

 **Inferred** **~ Lemon zest**

 **Ignored ~ Scurvy**


	15. Intermission information

**Taking a step back from the story to explain as many things as i can, i said i was going to do this a while ago. Here contains contexts and jutsu that i've been using. I took a gamble of not revealing everything until the story is well under way. I've kept cannon until the forth shinobi war was over but anything bast that has been changed. I didn't want to just repeat events in the Anime either so it's an entire arc set afterwards.**

 **Narhina, You are right about Naruto being underwhelming. He misread the situation badly (very badly) and thought he had a free shot at Fukushi, who was blind and running on borrowed time. But now i have the story context in place I can finally concentrate on Naruto's development and hopefully you can see how he wants to deal with his revenge from nearly loosing Hinata (which i'd imagine he would be more angry over)**

 **Hopefully now you will know the motivations of everyone now.**

 **Don't burn me for what i say below, i just think it would have been a logical way (to me) of events post war which probably wouldn't be a massive stretch to happen.**

 **Feel free to ask questions, i have probably missed something but at this point i am happy to explain things, please continue to favourite and read on.**

Geopolitical Climate.

My story is set roughly two years after the forth shinobi war. Peace has finally been achieved by the five great nations but not without problems. The war had devastated the numbers of shinobi from a couple thousand per village to a few hundred. Broadly speaking this is from deaths and missing ninja. With low man power the strength of the villages are less than what they once were. (I like to think that a war of that magnitude left many dead or deserting.) This has caused many problems such as increasing wealth and power of the noble class, a relatively useless part of society with more money than wits or strength. Civilians are also divided into two divergent opinions on shinobi. One group has seen them as a blessing and sought their protection, hence an influx of migrants around the great villages. While others blame the shinobi for the destruction caused by the war and have created marauding bandits to take advantage of the weakened villages unable to protect everyone.

Land of Earth,

Where Act I was based, had been hit hardest by crime as many mafia-like crime syndicates had emerged and have caused chaos within the area. For two months when Fukushi was still relatively under the radar, many smaller groups have been killed off which helped Iwagakure by proxy but also the Ro alliance. A particularly large, wealthy, and influential group lead by the rising noble class. They have been able to buy ninja for services to benefit their alliance and had used Fukushi to great effect, a nameless shinobi who only asked for relic pages in payment. His more direct approach to situations had the additional benefit of removing competition for the Ro alliance. Both the noble alliance and the village hidden in the stone know about each other and for now wish to just look the other way. Civil unrest from the crime has been made the priority in the village and so the Ro alliance is relatively unchallenged in the area.

Land of Lightning,

Potentially on of the best weathered village from the war. Their only issue is space as civilians are starting to live in cramped and squalor conditions. However, there is less crime here so the priority of Kumogakure is to help the other villages with their issues. Especially the Mist.

Land of water,

Civil war is at risk of spreading once more after the war. Many Mist shinobi have been blaming the Mizukage for poor management and allowing access to their village archives. In short, they are against the shinobi alliance of the five nations. With help from the leaf and the clouds they have been hoping to ease tensions before things fell apart once more. This doesn't seem likely however as small scale terrorism acts have been damaging the area and anything the foreign shinobi do to deal with the issues leads to more discontent towards them and prompting more terrorism.

Land of Wind,

With similar issues of migration as the Land of Lightning, a lack of space had caused more squalor conditions for the civilians. Their problems were made vastly worse by a plague. Squalor conditions, hot climate, and migrants who were not used to the heat had caused disease to spread like wildfire and killing many more people. With the death toll reaching hundreds if not over a thousand, many medical ninja and quaritine has been enforced which has tangled up the sand village from helping the others. Tsunade whom retired from the kage position had travelled here to help find a cure for the disease before it spreads out of the desert and affects other nations.

Land of Fire,

The land of fire has seen the most migration to the Hidden Leaf village. Mostly because of the fame Naruto had earned from the war. If people sought protection by the shinobi, then where better to go than near the most powerful ninja in the known world? In addition, the better sort of civilians had arrived here meaning the area is busy but crime is still manageable. As a result, Konohagakure is in a better position to help others which has earned praise throughout the world on its selfless deeds.

Land of Iron,

Because of the lack of shinobi, the land of iron had suffered the most losses of personnel during the war which had effectively ended their ability to help; even the land of earth next door. Rouge samurai hold most of the power and resources are slowly being leeched further to the point their nation is much worse off than before the war, once more the shinobi alliance was to be blamed for their instability as many civilians feel cheated by not receiving as much help as they put into the war effort. Their issues of rogue samurai could be dealt with easily but the lack of man-power in the area has meant the issue cannot be addressed anytime soon.

Minor lands,

With a couple exceptions, the situation here has been large scale movement away from the smaller villages. This has left the noble class nearly full reign of the land as crime varies from place to place. Peace may have been secured with the major nations but this has narrowed their view of the smaller nations who are struggling more than ever. Civilians and rouge ninja who distrust the alliance also have set up shop in these lands. Taking advantage of the great villages looking after each other to notice their rising power and influence most notable would be the emergence of the Land of Silence (In my story they were left untouched for longer, despite on cannon they would have dealt with them by now.)

Character development,

Hinata and Naruto,

Over the two years the pair have been working together more and more. Their training and apparent synergy had made them into a very effective shinobi pair. While many shinobi were send on security ninja, Naruto and Hinata have been mainly on diplomatic missions to other nations and to deal with small groups throughout the Land of fire. Their work is partly the reason Konoha has less issues than many of the other nations. (on cannon by this time the movie, ' _the last'_ would have happened and Naruto would have realised Hinata's love.) In this story though those events didn't happen and Naruto is still clueless, even with their confession in Iwagakure he still doesn't fully understand her feelings towards him thinking it's more like a crush than deep, real feelings. Their time spent together has made them closer and they have been starting to show their affection towards each other.

Kurama, Naruto, and Hinata,

Since the seal was taken down in the great war. Naruto and Kurama have been living together more comfortably, based on trust and understanding of one another. They entered an agreement of Kurama has full freedom and in return he wouldn't take total control over Naruto. Not that Naruto was unable to beat him a second time. However, the lack of the seal has meant both personalities had influenced each other. Naruto sometimes gets angrier than he should have, this is down to Kurama still holding on to some of his anger. Naruto is dealing with his anger but it's a lengthy process that takes time because no one can switch off such imbedded emotions so easily and Kurama was no exception. However, Naruto had his influence over the Biju as well and so his hidden perverted side and his cheerful or playful side had rubbed off onto Kurama. Hinata, in her quest to fully accept Naruto, had wished to speak to Kurama herself so she could fully understand her love. Like she was asking for the biju's permission to be with Naruto. By using Ino, Hinata entered Naruto's mindscape and talked for many hours to Kurama. The Biju could sense her fear but not once did she back away from him and so earned his respect as they also accepted each other.

Sasuke,

Since the war Sasuke had changed his attitude to one of searching for forgiveness. He began by wondering the world to see it through eyes which weren't blinded by hate. He grew a greater appreciation for the world around him. When problems became evident in the Land of Water he had begun to offer his services over there to help protect the status quo. He helped greatly keep the peace but alas he was still one man and too much was happening for him to ultimately prevent civil war. His relationship with Sakura is still up in the air. He writes to her once every three or four months but kept things vague talking about small stories that he heard along his journey, almost as if to tease her but nevertheless no one else received personal letters so Sakura felt special in that regard.

Genin Training Program.

A program agreed by the five nations to help boost ninja numbers while preserving Jonin numbers. Each village spared one jonin and sent between four and ten teams of genin with them to the Land of Earth to train. Rock Lee was the Leafs' candidate as he had unparalleled taijutsu which he could train the latest crop of genin. With careful planning and hard work the program appears to be a success with the first year of genin who used the program were still just as good as those team who stayed at their village for more personalised training by their jonin. The program is in its second year with some additional gening teams joining on the account of its success.

Off Cannon Character Profiles,

Fukushi of the Solaris Family. Age 17 Rank S

Background,

Fukushi was born in the far west, an unknown region even further than Mount Myoboku where the toads that Jiraiya and Naruto are famous for summoning. Although Fukushi never approached said mountain in his travels. His family name is alike the clan system in the known world and he is loyal to the black setting sun symbol which represents his family name. His family was known for their ninjutsu, learning, creating, and recording the jutsu over many generations. They were influential and wealthy like the Hyuuga but more-so humble with many members sharing mundane and domestic tasks just as farming or merchanting goods. The Solaris family is bound by name and not necessarily by blood although marriage within the family was slightly more frequent than outside the family, but both still happened. They treat ninjutsu with great respect and frequently ritualising certain jutsu as a rite of passage of sorts. For example, the soul bound jutsu. To which Fukushi partook when he was eight. Unfortunately, their great power attracted great jealousy and a group who simply call themselves Legion. A large army lead by a king who desired nothing more than to conquer. He relied on non-jutsu using people as leverage to become popular with the majority and was seen as an equalising force in the unknown world.

Upon feeling his home, under his father's instructions, Fukushi ran across the land to the east and tried his luck in the Badlands, an area of difficult terrain full of swamps and deserts almost side by side. Along with the constant stench of sulphur. He was ten years of age by now and had been soul bound for two years, long enough to bond with his soul partner (though their relationship was either professional during training or childish). His small profile and well trained body made him almost impossible to be found in the Badlands. His immediate symptoms of mental damage from the broken soul bound jutsu was intense hallucinations of the blue-haired woman. Or other dangerous creatures and people 'attacking' him. Forcing him to mentally relive bad situations repeatedly. He spent a week in the Badlands before reaching the other side of the massive canyon that contained the poor environment. He had to leave as he was found by scouts during one of his outbursts. Fukushi kept heading east until he eventually reached the great jungle, an impenetrable wall of nature and far more dangerous than the forest of death at Konoha. In the forest, he was finally able to rest from his pursuers as a plant ate one of their scout party and put them off chasing the boy into the jungle.

It had taken Fukushi two years to reach the other side of the jungle where he was put on high alert as he found civilisation but quickly realised they spoke in a different language which made him feel utterly abandoned. By this time, Naruto would have left Konoha to train under Jiraiya. The jungle had trained Fukushi how to survive in any conditions by now as the unpredictability of the terrain and the dangerous animals forced him to learn or die.

He had met a man, a noble by the name of Tenushi, who also founded the Ro alliance which at the time was a small underground organisation of illegal death matches. He taught Fukushi Japanese and helped him streamline his fighting technique. Both of which came at a cost, Tenushi was able to guilt trip Fukushi into fighting on his behalf in the death matches. His unique jutsu making him very popular and valuable in the ring. It was among the fighting to the death and the physical 'conditioning' (borderline torture) that Fukushi lost his eye to his opponent. Once his teleporting jutsu became known but before he was adept at it he was forced into heavier confinement and spent many years caged and blindfolded. His book, that we was tasked to protect, was eventually given up to them as payment for everything they did for him. (Fukushi had been conditioned by Tenshi.) Only released for fighting, conditioning, and out of power lust, raped. The idea of doing what they wanted and exerting their own power over a powerful shinobi, it quickly became a drug to them. During the war, the Ro alliance had expended into the entity it is during the events of my story. Fukushi was now fifteen, and the forth shinobi war was in its finishing moments. Post war had the Ro alliance had suffered damage from the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Tenshi had been worried about violent action against them as other crime syndicates had sprung up once they realised the shinobi villages were weakened. He allowed Fukushi to be freed from containment once he was sixteen (A year after the war.) to which he would act as Tenshi's body guard. Fukushi complied and became better known within the alliance because of it. However, a week before Fukushi started his hunt for the missing pages he had found out that his book, the same one he had to protect, was being sold page by page by Tenushi. Enraged from the obvious betrayal, he killed the noble but not just killed he destroyed his body with a mix of jutsu and in front of other nobles who immediately feared for their lives. One man called Huramwa who had been wanting to take over the Ro alliance anyway struck a deal with Fukushi. Their lives for information to where those pages were sold. Fukushi accepted and begun his quest. If only he found one of the great villages instead.

By the time her met Monica, who was screaming in fear, and attracted his attention to the small bandit camp. He had spent four years in torture, and little over two in the wild. He was alone and had to constantly regulate the schizophrenic symptoms from the broken jutsu. One good thing that came from his experience was he had plenty of time to control his mentality and pass off as a reasonably normal human being.

Appearance,

Fukushi is a reasonably tall seventeen-year-old at the height of 5ft 10, He has a malnourished body from having a poor diet and constantly fighting. Frequently relying on willpower over strength to keep going. He has short scruffy brown hair which is kept in check by cutting it with a kunai. His face has two scars, one from his left ear and destroying his left eye while the second one comes up on his cheek and through his left eye while the rest of his scars are unseen. His remaining eye was purple, an uncommon colour but one that is hereditary through his family. Fukushi's left arm is covered in the soul bound fuuinjutsu symbols which runs from his fingers and covered his chest where his heart is. In addition, he had four chakra sealing fuuinjutsu on his right side. Four is a balance between volume of chakra and time it takes to refill all the seals. Potentially Fukushi could have hundreds of such seals but his downtime would be months. His other tattoos consist of his right shoulder being covered in an intricate pattern to show he had defeated his first opponent from back when he was first trained. The second is on his right wrist, A small band of patterns with the black sun of his family being the dominant motif. Fukushi is often dressed in a sleeveless shirt and a pair trousers of plain white and brown. He has a belt capable of holding his katana on his left flank along with a few pouches but much of his storage is within his jutsu. He kept his cloak from when he left his home. It used to be white with orange sunset and a black sun as the centre piece. But had faded into a rough grey colour. Keeping his arms uncovered was important to Fukushi whom had many issues about his tattoos. He should be wearing them with pride but many look at him as if he was cursed. His burns on his left hand hadn't helped dispel the belief of him being cursed.

Stats,

Ninjutsu: 4 (Natural affinity and has a wide variety and can learn quickly)

Taijutsu: 3 (Untrained but decent through survival techniques)

Genjutsu: 0 (No talent to use even basic ninja genjutsu, utterly vulnerable too)

Intelligence: 3 (knows two languages)

Strength: 2 (Malnourished though closer to 3 on full health)

Speed: 4 (teleporting techniques and taijutsu is geared to speed)

Stamina: 2 (5 with seals)

Hand signs: 5 (unique to the known world, additional hand signs to specify jutsu further)

Affinities: Lightning, Wind, Ex-water (he lost the affinity when he lost is soul binding)

Taijutsu and kenjutsu,

Fukushi is adept as using his katana as his primary weapon. The blade used to be his father's and it was made with chakra conductive metal. Strong, and sharp. His fighting technique is usually supplemented by a kunai in his left hand. Although he can use both hands on his katana. Because of his summoning ability, losing his katana isn't much of an issue as he resorts to summoning weapons and taijutsu easily. Although his taijutsu is very rough after not being properly trained in the art. So his potential effectiveness in melee is less than expected.

Ninjutsu,

Because of his background in ninjutsu, Fukushi has a more refined set of hand signals. He still used the twelve (the cannon signs) but in addition he had a bank of new signs which refined his chakra and replicate the jutsu and its effects perfectly. The pay-off for slightly longer to sign jutsu is his ability to learn new jutsu quickly as he doesn't need to practice getting the amount of chakra right. Instead the seals do it for him so he just has to memorise the jutsu to use it. Fukushi was able to teach himself one handed signs which allowed him to keep armed while casting a jutsu. Third, Fukushi is also able to internalise jutsu, in short, manipulate chakra without signs. Although this takes a long time to practice and can only be done with a few jutsu. If you like, Naruto technically internalised his resengan, manipulating his chakra into a rotating ball of death without the use of hand signs. Fukushi has also learned about eight basic jutsu affinities (like the cannon five affinities, on the three additional ones could be seen as too rare or lumped in with another larger affinity.) The affinities are: Fire, Lightning, Wind, Dust, Earth, Nature (plant jutsu like wood), Water, Energy. In the known world, dust is often considered wind, and nature was thought to be unique. Secondary jutsus are combinations of two elements while tertiary jutsus are combination of three. Fukushi also understand chakra has two types but with increasing intensity. There is spirit and body chakra (cannon) while spirit goes into nature followed by life. Body increases to blood then to death. Basically, the yin and yang of the world to keep a balanced equilibrium in such a way.

Death Jutsu isn't a new concept it just refers to a jutsu that frequently has worse effects than death, It's Fukushi's version of forbidden jutsu. Death chakra is the lack of life, a theory of when there is no other chakra that this is what's present. It's a means of keeping balance in chakra of where there is life there must be death.

Genus Fulminis: Arma Orbis (Lightning style: Weapon summoning)

Rank B, close range

One of Fukushi's first jutsu to internalise. It's using his chakra to construct a weapon that's usable. Like shadow clone jutsu only it doesn't clone off an actual object. This allows for seeming unlimited projectiles and for Fukushi to never be unarmed. Can also be used in a non-military context or used in conjunction with secondary jutsu to have a wide mix of effects. Fukushi is very proficient in this jutsu which matches his speed a versitality.

Genus Fulminis: Instrumentum Ardendu. (Lightning style: weapon firing)

Rank B, Medium range

A commonly used jutsu that summons the desired weapons (typically four but sometimes eight or even more) and fires them at great speed to their target. A very accurate strike that often can't be blocked easily. Also can be combined with other jutsu for desired effects.

Genus Fulminis: Fulgur Palmarum. (Lightning style: Lightning palm)

Rank C, Close range

Channels lightning chakra into the palm or weapon to create an explosive bolt which typically blasts away the target away from you. Can be used with kunai.

Genus Fulminis: Fulgur Percusserit (Lightning style: Lightning strike)

Rank C, Medium range

Like the lightning palm only the strike is from the sky. Can be attached to a kunai or internalised and strikes on will.

Genus Fulminis: Fulgur Murum (Lightning Style: Lightning wall)

Rank B Close-mid range

A deployable wall of energy which can be defined by Fukushi throwing kunai onto the floor. The shield is able to block most physical damage but is vulnerable to flank attacks or very powerful attacks. It's expensive in chakra cost to hold it for extended periods of time. Has a secondary version of a shield on Fukushi's left arm. A much smaller energy wall that can be internalised by Fukushi for rapid defence. However, Fukushi often prefers to just parry the attack with his kunai than waste chakra on the shield.

Genus Fulminis: Fulur Unda (Lightning Style: Lightning Wave)

Rank B Close-mid range

Combining lightning strike into a wave of strikes. Can be used as either a ring around the caster or directed into a single path which has longer range.

Genus Ventus: Ventus Pugno (Wind Style: Wind punch)

Rank B Close range

A taijutsu style supplemented by wind chakra which allowed for Fukushi to strike invisibly about six inches off his body. Also, when struck a certain way can be used to forcefully blast the target. Fukushi prefers to be armed however and this jutsu requires to be unarmed. A version of it is channelled through his katana and extends the cutting range of the weapon.

Genus Ventus: Ventus Inter Legumina (Wind Style: Wind Pulse)

Rank D Medium range

A weak Jutsu that pulses air. Can knock targets back.

Genus Ventus: Gyrat (Wind style: Wind blows)

Rank C Medium range

Manipulating the wind to knock projectiles out of the air, can be used to redirect and fire the projectiles against Fukushi's target but he isn't adept enough for it yet. Doesn't work on heavier projectiles.

The lightning writing technique and the chakra ball technique by themselves are hardly worthy enough for even D rank. The lightning writing is flowing chakra into the fingers and can be useful to write fuuinjutsu or even just writing in general. Think of it as a very, very weak chidori as the principles are the same just one might impale her heart (if you know what I mean) while the other would give a surprise if it touched you (Would make the thousand years of death very painful). Chakra balls just show your affinity, can be adapted into something else but as a base is basically for show or utility use such as light or heat.

Fuuinjutsu.

Fukushi is able to write fuuinjutsu without the use of chakra infused ink. He uses his own manipulated chakra to create the markings needed for the insignia to work. As it's still done with his chakra the results are the same as ink only Fukushi doesn't need to carry it. (he stil has emergency pot of the stuff though) This can happen on cannon as Naruto's summoning does the same thing when he plants the jutsu on the ground.

Sigillum Libri. (seal scroll)

Rank C

A cross between ninjutsu and fuuinjutsu as a means of storing physical objects into a small pocket dimension. The seal itself, so long as it can be remembered, is able to maintain itself without burning much chakra at all. Can be used of physical scrolls if desired. This allows Fukushi to carry many objects without running out of space with scrolls to hold them on. The banner consists of the user's chakra and about 8 inches wide by 3ft in length. There is a central circle where the object or objects or stored along with 6 smaller circles to make each banner identifiable to summon as desired. The rest is just fuuinjutsu markings which fill the rest of the space up.

Chakra can be stored in a modified version of the fuuinjutsu but unlike material storage it must be on a physical scroll otherwise the chakra holding the chakra would just disperse and waste it all. As a side effect when someone casts genjutsu on the use who has sufficient chakra sealed then the genjutsu accidently tricks the seal in seeing the foreign chakra as no chakra and so floods the user with chakra. A very crude and wasteful method but it works and has the added benefit of backfiring to the caster of the genjutsu.

Tempastatum (storms)

Rank A

A pentagram that attracts nature chakra and with it manipulates a storm into the local area. Different chakra affinities can produce different effects. For example, lighting chakra makes the jutsu strike lightning. Fukushi uses it to cover his tracks during his attacks, it's partly what earned him the nickname lightning demon as the storm became the signal that someone was going to be attacked.

Corruptio Aeris (Air Distortion)

Rank C

A Pentagram which stabilises and empowers the wind pulse. It distorts the surrounding air creating a mirage which makes users inside the field appear invisible. It also can mask smells by preventing them leaving the immediate area. Fukushi uses this primarily to have a relatively save campsite. This is useless to skilled sensory ninja who could simply sense the chakra used in the jutsu. The sharingan and the Byakugan can also see past the jutsu with ease. Meaning the site isn't totally safe but safe enough to be practical.

Anima Ligabis (Soul Bind)

Rank S

A Decagram which surrounds the pair who wish to be bound together. Although typically between a young boy and girl, so they could grow up with each other and get used to it. Gender or age doesn't matter so much, nor does number of people bound. The pair also obtain fuuinjutsu up their arms and over their chest, typically on the left arm although not required. The pair mush hold hands and keep contact until the jutsu is complete in order to create the link. It is a very delicate and lengthy jutsu that is irreversible but have three main benefits to it.

Protection, both users are able to heal each other wounds, in addition and providing the bound pair are strong enough can be used to reverse death upon being casted (doesn't happen post casting)

Knowledge, both users are able to use each other's senses (sight, touch and hearing etc) and even chakra networks. This means both bonded pair is able to use the other's jutsu, for example if one member had fire affinity and the other member had water affinity then both are able to use either and even unlock secondary effects with this method. It also stacks so it becomes possible for one person to obtain every affinity through soul binding including bloodlines such as the sharingan. A pair skilled enough in the binding can use each other's bodies like a mind transformation jutsu from the Yamanaka clan. Remote communication is also included.

Understanding, Bound pairs also have full access to emotions and memories of each other. Often going as far as reading each other thoughts. Some have experienced shared dreams where both are aware they are together whilst in a dream creating a serial and unique experience.

However, despite this, the jutsu can be abused. The relationship of the bind is not to give or allow another your chakra but instead the other demands and takes the chakra. This means self-restraint, mindfulness and chakra control are required unless you kill your partner by draining them of their chakra accidently (or on purpose) There is an incomplete version of the jutsu which binds the person one way. Allowing for one person unpreventable use of a second persons' chakra but not risk losing any in return. This makes it a very secretive Jutsu to Fukushi as he understands the potential devastation it could cause if someone ran amok with it. (I think Orochimaru would go nuts for this one)

One major downside to being soul bound is if one member dies the other member will probably also outright die from synaptic feedback. Those who live are left with a broken soul binding jutsu, they are still pushing out their own chakra from the jutsu while most who end up with a broken jutsu end up with either bi-polar as the conscious of their bound partner is now within their body. Or with Schizophrenia symptoms as their mind is shattered by the synaptic feedback. The last option is considered lucky as it can be fixed or the symptoms dealt with.

Fulgura (Lightnight flash)

Rank S

By far Fukushi's most deadly jutsu It's almost exactly like the Hiraishin that Minato used when he was alive. While Minato was faster and could use the Hiraishin more frequently which earned him the SS rank. Fukushi is able to internalise the jutsu and through visualising the fuuinjutsu on the target location he can teleport there. It means he has a reliance on sight which is exploitable but for the most part he will only get faster as he practices the internal version of the jutsu. This was the product of coincidence that the known and the unknown world would have developed the same jutsu. Fire and water affinities have been known to also be used to make a teleportation type jutsu but some affinities like Earth cannot be used in such a way.

Genjutsu,

He was born into a place where genjutsu wasn't really considered or even known about. As a result, he has nothing to protect him aside from chakra seals. Maybe after some training he would be able to counter genjutsu but he has no affinity for it.

Monica Uandi, age 17, Rank C

Background,

Monica comes from a family who lived within the Land of the fire. They come from a background of lumberjacks and farmers and have no relatives who were shinobi. Growing fears from the Akatsuki and the desire to move to a city life had decided for her family to pack sticks and move to Konoha. Monica at the age of eight, had signed up to become a shinobi and was accepted after seeing some potential. She had slugged through the academy and developed much slower than the rest of her peers, her lack of shinobi background had meant she felt left out and struggled to relate to many people. She had tried to graduate when she was thirteen but after spectacularly failing her genin exams she got the reputation of being a useless or clumsy ninja, often referred to as a failed Naruto (Even he managed to get through the academy first time, just). She became more quiet and reserved after that which earned her the title of weird by her class. She had hardly improved much during the second attempt. Failing that her depression and anxiety kicked up and she started feeling useless herself. It was after a stern talking to from her teachers and realising the disappointment from her family, that she managed to pass the acadamy exams albeit barely. She became genin at fifteen and the war ended before she was sent anywhere.

She was paired with Nago and Dentsu who were both brighter and stronger than her but two years younger (thirteen at passing the Acadamy). At first, they didn't notice her but she quickly dragged them down and they both made sure she knew about it. With many pranks and sly remarks going under the radar of Lee, who became their sensei once they graduated to genin. She was always the quiet on until Lee managed to persuade her to wear the green jumpsuit thinking it would inspire her, much to everyone's amusement. Her anxiety hit a new low after that point and she lost all moral to do training. As a result, their teamwork became so bad they couldn't take the chunin exams which made Nago and Dentsu loathe her more.

She joined the genin training program to see if new people would help her break out of her shell. Unfortunately, being two years older than most genin coupled by Nago and Dentsu spreading rumours. Some more extreme than others. Monica was noticed by the other genin and then judged by it. If only somebody gave her a leg up for once.

By the second year of being a genin many people in the training program started to ignore her which left her alone and their skills became further and further ahead of her. This was when he had a training accident and knocked out in the forest outside Iwagakure. Nago and Dentsu had left her alone, they were naive of the dangers in the area as no one dared go near a group of forty odd ninja, genin or not. She was seventeen by this point where bandits wounded her and captured her. The stress of almost being raped had snapped something in her mind which is why she saw Fukushi in a whole different light. He saved her from a fate worse than death and never quite recovered from the ordeal in the weeks to come. Fukushi became a stabilising influence in her life, a person who would brush away her anxiety and make the world clear so she could concentrate properly on her training for the first time.

Now she'd only listen to him after realising he didn't treat her as useless and had even helped her find out her forte and how to use it. She grew respect for him as he showed her how much will power he had to keep on going. To her it was a steep learning curve but she would train in the rain, sleep outside without fire and in fear of being found. Scavenge for food and becoming invisible in public. She pushed hard to improve so she wouldn't end up resented by Fukushi and regret allowing her to follow him, that and to just survive the bitter cold nights in the mountains. It was in brief moments of Fukushi's guard down in the hot springs when Monica realised that he was alone and exhausted and she could help. He was human after all with a painful past that she was never told, she just read his body language in those brief moments.

Appearance,

Monica has the height of 5ft 6 with a feminine but not exaggerated hourglass shape to her body which came with a ninja lifestyle. She had perky C-cup breasts on her chest (for those who need to know) which show impressively through her attire despite trying to flatten them out with tight clothes, she used to hate being judged by them so made an effort to conceal them. She typically wore black tights or black shinobi trousers under a long beige coat which gave the appearance of a shirt if she wore a flak jacket on top. Since Fukushi saved her she lost her coat and wore a simple shirt and no longer a tight bra, becoming more confident around him. She wore a cloak much like his own, in fact she probably subconsciously tried to copy him. Her grey cloak is much less worn and lacked the motif of the black sun as she didn't know about it. Her orange shoulder length hair is another feature, she kept is wild and messy, more so once she was in the wild. She used a couple clips to keep her hair out of her face but other than that her hair appeared to be dark brown in some places and bright orange highlights in others. Monica also had two noticeable scars. One covered her left side from her ear down to her hip and the other on the right side of her neck. At first she hated the look and the memories they help but after a while she accepted them as a part of her, even going as far as liking her rogue look.

Stats,

Ninjutsu: 1 (2 when confident but her lack of jutsu is holding her back)

Taijutsu: 1 (2 when confident, though she is quickly approaching Fukushi's skill)

Genjutsu: 1 (She has basic ninja training (henge and substitution for example))

Intelligence: 2 (she does study hard but her anxiety makes her decisions doubted)

Strength: 1 (2 when confident, though improving quickly as she trains)

Speed: 2 (3 when confident, she gets vicious when she wants to be)

Stamina: 2 (3 with seals, she had managed to store chakra on scrolls)

Hand signs: 3 (4 when confident, she's been learning Fukushi's efficiency.)

Affinity: Fire

Confidence refers to when she is near Fukushi and better reflects her skills, without it she becomes panicked easily and relatively weak.

Taijutsu and Kenjutsu,

Her style is mixed between the refined academy style, elements of Lee's own style and Fukushi's more direct approach to surviving. She is unpredictable and can easily switch between armed and unarmed combat. Her low score is from her lack of experience in fighting but will improve over time. She wields a Wakizashi as a weapon longer than a kunai to help aid in her range but not so different that she had to retrain from using kunai all her ninja career. (It's basically a shorter katana, about under half the length)

Ninjutsu,

Monica has the fire affinity which burns a bright emerald blue which gives her a distinct jutsu as the colour isn't common but her lack of a shinobi heritage no one could say for sure where her fire affinity originates from, with the possibility of her being the first to have this type of fire affinity. Other than colour it acts exactly the same and a normal fire affinity though, or the potential hasn't been discovered yet.

Fire style: Fireball (Though she may use Fukushi's language, but Japanese is far easier for her.)

Rank C/B Medium range,

She knows far less jutsu than Fukushi as she's only been training to manipulate the chakra ball. However, she's managed to manipulate it enough to make it into a useful weapon but hasn't mastered it enough to internalise the jutsu yet. She had learned the ability to direct the fireball during her stay at Iwa in secret which makes it much harder to dodge and efficient as she can reuse the same ball of fire.

Fire style: point defence

Rank D

A throwback when she learned to harden her chakra balls into something that can deflect projectiles, although she can only make a few and are useless for anything else, being easily overwhelmed or tricked into missing their mark. She can internalise the jutsu which gives her a small advantage in that regard.

Fire style: Summoning weapons

Rank C

Same as Fukushi only Monica isn't skilled at it yet.

Fire style: Fire Waterfall

Rank D

Typically used with her kunai the jutsu spills fire, as if it's a liquid, on the target. Although she hasn't managed to make it hot enough to cause any lasting damage it still has the shock factor of being set on fire.

Fuuinjutsu,

Monica has learned how to store items and chakra but aside from that she has no additional skills.

Genjutsu,

Fire style: Burn

Rank D

A combination of her basic training and genjutsu and Fukushi's improved chakra manipulation. Has led to her targets thinking that her fire is everywhere. Doesn't damage the target any more than the fire waterfall jutsu but also has the shock factor, which could mean a misstep, or for lesser ninja, outright panic.

 **This is how things stand during Act I, in Act II the characters would have advanced further, but that'll be in the story. Might have a wee break because i have due essays to write now. But i might have something in a week or so to post so don't loose faith.**


	16. Act II Chapter XV

**First things first, I've changed the ending of the last chapter, my intention was to motivate Naruto but i though of a (hopefully) better way to do it without embarrassing the boy but still put it in a way that they are still a threat. That and i decided Fukushi should have been right on the brink of collapse rather than walking away. Deflecting one wind shuriken should be enough to knacker anyone. That and several strikes from the gentle fist and Naruto's not so gentle fist.**

 **I'm also planning to take longer writing instead of trying to keep to a schedule, I felt a few chapters were rushed and i might go back to them according (and add a V2 to the end so you know which ones i've changed).**

 **There will be lemons upcoming but i am not gonna warn you, the rating should be a clue and we are all adults here (well i'm not a cop so go ahead) but i'll play the lemon card as the story fits it, not throw it around like a lemon fight.**

 **I don't own Naruto, never have, never will. But please rate my story, comment on things i could improve etc etc that would be great.**

 **Act II**

 **Four days later, in Konoha.**

"And that concludes the mission report." The spiky haired ninja known as Shikamaru reported to the Hokage, who let out a deep sigh, missing member of the leaf and a rogue ninja from the far west. In the room with Shikamaru was Sakura, Hinata, Sasuke, and Naruto who had the look of utter shame about him. He felt like it was his fault that Fukushi and Monica had managed to escape. Although no one had expected her to learn to teleport with her fire affinity.

"So this was a total failure?" Kakashi bluntly replied. Naruto winced.

"Essentially Lord Kakashi." Shikamaru spoke formally.

"We will need to find an effective counter to the pair and bring them in. Monica at least. The Tsuchikage has given the kill on sight order and put on a heavy bounty on both of their heads. We can only just afford a higher bounty for them alive. I don't need to remind you how enraged he was over their embarrassment being infiltrated by two ninja, a supposed genin too." Kakashi leaned back from his desk and looked over his shoulder, out over Konoha as some apartment block towers started to creep up out of the treeline. "Any ideas to counter their attacks?"

"Genjutsu is only effective once they are on low chakra." Sasuke spoke, earning a quick glance from Sakura. "But I don't think they'll be so rushed anymore, having nearly been defeated twice. We shouldn't take them for idiots."

"Yes, something in my medical report." Sakura spoke up, Kakashi immediately edged himself to the table and flicked over to Sakura's addition to the overall mission report. Sakura continued. "He had unbalanced chakra reserves meant he was using it much more inefficiently than normal. He might be more prepared next time by simply allowing his body to be in better health."

"Sounds like he was almost expecting things to go wrong unless he rushed, maybe he knew we were onto him?" Shikamaru added.

"We can't forget Monica." Hinata piped in quietly but Shikamaru nodded in approval.

"Yes, she was at a huge risk by playing the innocent genin, but there was another reason for it. I wouldn't have played that move if I was in his situation."

There was a moments silence before Kakashi made his decision. "Shikamaru, could you try translating the pages we have. Sasuke was right, we have three ourselves just filed under objects of interest. I'm right in guessing that Lee gave you Monica's notes."

"Will do." Shikamaru sighed and turned to start his new job.

"Sakura and Hinata you're dismissed, you can help Shikamaru or Sasuke but otherwise I need the pair of you to fine tune your skills more, We are all getting rusty since the war already."

"What's Sasuke doing?" Sakura asked, curious why she had the opportunity to help him.

"Sasuke is going to hunt for those pages, he has much better networking than Fukushi so should be relatively easy to find them before he does in the Land of Fire, though I would like you to find them and save the retrieval for other teams. Finding them is top priority especially if they contain jutsu as the nukenin suggested.

"Could I go with Sasuke?" Sakura asked with a hopeful tone, Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You did promise next time I asked I could come with you."

Sasuke sighed "Fine, I guess I did." He held his breath thinking Sakura would suddenly become loud and annoying but she just smiled and nodded thanks, much to the Uchiha's relief that he may not have to put up with her like he used to.

"Hinata? What are you going to do?" Kakashi asked?

"Oh, urm, I'll stay in the village and see if I can help with anything." She gave a small smile as she spoke in her calm, soft voice.

"Alright I'll see if I can put you to some use in the village. You're all dismissed. Naruto could you stay though." The ninja turned and filed out one by one, Hinata stopped momentarily to give Naruto's hand a reassuring squeeze. After a minute of silence and the student was alone with his old sensei. Naruto looked up at the sixth Hokage.

"Am I in trouble?" He spoke still a little bashful, He had already heard the Tsuchikage shout his frustration at everyone. So much so he even injured himself in the process. To him this whole situation was embarrassing and he needed it resolved. Fast.

"Not at all." Kakashi sighed. "No one blames you for him getting away, he holds a huge range of jutsu and lord knows if he is holding more for later." He rested his elbows on the table and his chin on his fists to support the grey haired man. "However, while he has a number of murders to his name, I don't think such a potential resource she be killed off as the Tsuchikage wishes it. Sasuke agrees, in fact it was his idea."

Naruto had the look of confusion on his face. "Sasuke said that?"

"Indeed."

"Couldn't we just subdue him like we did last time."

"Here's the issue, I doubt he would simply allow Sasuke's sharingan to cast a genjutsu. This Fukushi character is now expecting that kind of attack, assuming he has an ounce of intelligence."

"So what can we do?" Naruto sighed, genjutsu would be helpful but he heard how much the backfired sharingan hurt. "We could wear down his chakra. It worked last time"

"That would work but I have a better idea for you Naruto."

"Hmm?" He looked up curious at his former teacher.

"How would you like to learn a new jutsu? More specifically you fathers' Hiraishin."

The blonde haired boy lit up like a light, he got excited over the jutsu, especially one that his own father was renowned for. His brandished his grin but unlike his former self who would immediately jump around or beg Kikashi to teach him the technique.

"Thing is, could you try and getting it down in four weeks, you don't need to be as adept as you Minato but we could really use a ninja who could keep up with our problem rogues."

"I'll do it in two weeks!" Naruto yelled his statement with a fist to the table, making the piles of paperwork wobble dangerously towards the table edge. He couldn't contain his excitement any longer despite himself.

"I think you'll do it in eight weeks." A dulled voice spoke behind Naruto causing him to jump. He turned to Sai with his eyes closed and presenting a smile which still seemed off to Naruto. Sai was carrying a small scroll with many sealing signs covering the paper.

"I'm putting my money on nine." A demonic voice spoke out from within Naruto, but only to Naruto causing his to sigh at their antics.

"Great enthusiasm guys" Sai thought he was talking to him while Kurama knew that he was included.

"The scroll Sai has contains everything you need to know about the Hiraishin, including a storage seal for some of his specialised kunai and instructions on how to make more." Kakashi spoke while keeping his posture still. Sai, with a smile, handed Naruto the scroll. "I would appreciate if you keep your training on the down low, you are holding a forbidden technique and I'd appreciate as few people knowing as possible. Though knowing you as well as I do, you'll probably tell your closer friends." He sighed as some things cannot be changed about the boy.

Naruto looked at the scroll then back up. "How do I open it, it has a seal."

"Actually, it should only open to you, Minato left it for you to use and only you." Kakashi spoke as Naruto opened the scroll as if it was normal paper. He glanced over the writing, he smiled but the smile was merely a mask for the memories of his father during the war came flooding with the words he wrote. After a couple minutes of reading, Naruto slid his hand over the storage seal and summoned a single tri-pronged kunai with the fuuinjutsu written on the hilt of the blade. He grabbed it and looked up to the Hokage.

"I will not fail you!" With that, he took his leave.

"Will it be enough to take down these rogue ninjas?" Sai questioned Kakashi once Naruto was out of ear-shot.

"It will certainly level the playing field even if he can't use it as fast as Minato could. The disorientating effects are by far the worst part of the jutsu. According to the late forth Hokage."

"Is there a mission for me?" Sai said bluntly, he had gotten the answer he was looking for already and needn't to carry on with that topic.

"Yes, I need you to track the pair. Keep hidden and do not engage. Neither of them are apparent sensory ninja but don't use that as an excuse to get sloppy."

Sai blinked in mild confusion. "But I am never sloppy." Kakashi thought and nodded in response. "I'll find them." With that Sai used an ink Shunshin. And vanished with a small puddle of black ink on the floor.

"I wish Sai would stop using ink in here." Kakashi sighed as he looked at the now numerous faint black stains on the carpet where Sai once stood. He looked down at a sheet of paper which had the list of available Ninja, the list was short, but he added Hinata to it as she could do the odd job here and there.

Meanwhile Naruto was heading to his favourite Raman stand. They had since grown large as the building was rebuilt but also to accommodate the increased popularity after the war. Ichiraku's Ramen was the best place to find the hero of the Leaf and everyone knew it by now. He entered as two previous patrons left, they both quickly offered the boy thanks for everything. He smiled and politely waved them off. The leaf shinobi sat in his usual spot by the bar and stretched while Teuchi noticed him and walked up to the buy to grab his order.

"Been on another diplomatic trip?"

"No actually, this mission was different, total failure unfortunately." Naruto looked down for a moment. He spoke somewhat bitter as well.

Teuchi leaned on the table. "Oh come on, I know you aren't going to just leave that mission where it is."

Naruto shook his head and looked up at the old man. "Of course, I have some training in new jutsu to do then we will be ready to deal with the rogue shinobi."

"Rouge shinobi? Hmm we had a merchant from Iwagakure come in and complain about the hurt business because of a 'demon'." He air quoted the demon as he knew enough of the shinobi world from Naruto to know demons wouldn't just be a nuisance on trade but something far worse.

"Huh, word travels fast, yes but we couldn't catch him. To make matters worse one of our genin abandoned the village to join him." The conversation took a dark silence as the noodle chief knew how serious abandonment was to the village. Although he, as a civilian, had no obligation to stay in Konoha he still valued his home and stuck by through thick or thin. Before they could continue, Ayame interrupted them.

"Is that Naruto? Oh Hey! Five extra-large bowls with beef strips?" She smiled and waved at Naruto while Naruto smiled and waved back.

"Yes, thank you, err thanks for listening old man." Naruto took a deep breath and felt somewhat better about the situation. Teuchi was right, he wouldn't leave this unfinished.

"Anytime Naruto, excuse me, customers." He nodded at a small family entered the shop and took seats by the window. Naruto waited patiently for his meal while looking around the bar. The Ramen Restaurant managed to keep most of its charm over the years. Naruto didn't mind it was bigger now and honestly, he was impressed with how they keep up with the increased footfall and still find time to talk to him. Soon his food arrived and with thanks to Ayame, he tucked in.

A Voice from behind made Naruto momentarily stop eating his third bowl.

"Geeze Naruto, some things never change." Sasuke said with a deadpanned look on his face.

"Care for a bowl of ramen?" Teuchi called out from behind the counter.

"No thanks, I'd like to get to the next town before nightfall, though if you have a rice ball or two ready I'll have those."

"Wrapped up?" The chief asked to which Sasuke nodded before leaning to one side of Naruto while Sakura leaned on the other and gave him a smile.

"We just wanted to say goodbye before we leave." Sakura said, you could tell in her voice that she was happy she was leaving with Sasuke this time.

"I have a present for you Naruto, I found this on my travels, it's a jutsu suited for wind style. Nothing extravagant but I am trying to rid myself of crap I don't need." He spoke in a flat tone but still handed over a small scroll containing his writing about how to do said jutsu. "It's called the air bolt or something, fires a projectile of condensed air. Though you would make better use of it than me." Sasuke never smiled but by the time he was finished, four wrapped up rice balls were slid across the bar to which Sasuke tossed two to Sakura and the pair turned to leave after paying Teuchi.

"Bye Naruto." Sakura called out behind her as the two left the building.

Naruto turned to his next bowel of Ramen and placed the scroll outside of splash range from the more liquid part of his meal.

After half an hour, it was Naruto's time to leave, he handed over the money he owed and walked out of Ichiraku's. With a stretch, he decided to see if a training ground was empty. A couple hours of intense training would prepare him to start early tomorrow. So he could learn the Jutsu he had now obtained. Once he reached the training grounds he saw that there were only four people using it. Even from a distance he could see two green jumpsuits that could only belong to Rock Lee and Might Guy. Might Guy wasn't participating the sparring match but instead was observing and shouting encouragements. Upon approach, Naruto could see who the two genin were. Dentsu was engaged in rapid sparring with Lee. Lee was still going easy but compared to most genin, He was pulling out the fancier taijutsu moves. Nago was topless and revealing his numerous scars across his body and face that Monica had inflicted. He had heard off Sakura that the wounds were inflicted with her chakra as well and so weren't likely going to heal ever. Nago was impatiently waiting for an opening created by Dentsu. He was the main reason Guy was shouting at him to do something. Nago saw his opportunity when Dentsu managed to knock Lee back for a split second. He dived in with a kick. Lee saw the attack and twisted to avoid the attack and grabbed Nago to throw him at Dentsu. A nearby puddle suddenly shot out at Lee but before it could reach the Jonin, Lee took a step back and the glob of water snapped back to the puddle like an elastic band. Might Guy noticed Naruto and called for the match to end. Lee was cool and calm while the genin were panting in the pile, one on top of another.

"Hey guys!" Naruto called out as the two genin picked themselves up.

"Naruto, what brings you here?"

"Isn't it obvious, I was thinking of getting a couple hours of training in before sundown."

"What an excellent idea." Guy replied. "The three of you verses Naruto."

"Hey, wait what?"

"You said you wanted training, and nothing prepares the body like a good sparring match."

"But why three against me?"

"You think you can't hack it?" Guy tutted in his wheelchair. "I though you were better than this Naruto."

Naruto grinned "Making it an even fight? Alright i'll bite."

The ninja got into position, Naruto was taking this time to mentally note down where each puddle was. He was guessing Nago found out he was a water type ninja. Already learned one jutsu for it but probably was very unskilled with it considering it has only been for days and the trio only reached Konoha a day before his own team reached. On the account of collateral and reports. Dentsu seemed to be a taijutsu user, perhaps a weapons user like Tenten. Of course, there was Lee, the taijutsu specialist and Naruto still couldn't quite match his speed despite his lack of ninjutsu.

"Winner is determined as first to cause either Naruto or Lee to fall. No other rules but no serious damage. Go!" Might Guy called out and immediately the green and the orange blurs collided and exchanged blows. Naruto blocked a kick with both his elbows before kicking Lee back. Whipping out a kunai he deflected three kunai thrown by Nago and immediately palmed Dentsu, who burst into smoke, a clone, but not a shadow clone. His real attack came from behind as Lee pounced back into the fray. Naruto parried a punch and returned his own which was blocked by a glob of water. Noting down the range of two meters mentally he jabbed at Lee who swiped his had away and proceeded to try and flip him to the floor. Naruto resisted and broke his hold before kicking a kunai painfully out of Dentsu's hand and grabbing it in mid-air to throw at Lee. Lee punched the blade from underneath and continued his assault. Lee painfully twisted Naruto's arm before throwing him towards a puddle for Nago to strike at him. Naruto managed to jump over in time and dodged the attack completely. Before catching his breath, Naruto parried several blows from Dentsu armed with a kunai and his free fist. Nago jumped up to drop an axe kick but Naruto side stepped in time. He then lunged like a javelin at Lee who took the unexpected blow. A step back but Naruto had momentum now and flipped Lee over who finally landed with a bounce on the floor.

"Match goes to Naruto." Guy spoke calmly. It was a good move to end it quickly but in a real fight, Lee would just get back up, as he did so now. Lee dusted himself down.

"I demand a re-match!" He called out. "I will win next time."

Naruto smiled. "That was a great warm-up, thank you bushy brow. But I think we should be working on these genin. They need to be much faster and stronger, they have the tactics down though." The pair gave a weak smile as they were exhausted from the regime they volunteered to join, Lee's training.

"Say, Naruto, could you go over some chakra control with them. We currently lack in ninjutsu training." Guy asked with his hand to his chin in a thoughtful pose.

Naruto pulled them to a pair of trees by the edge of the training field. The sun was now low in the sky but still too early to see the orange glow of a sunset. He taught them about tree walking and even showed them how to do it. He mainly repeated what he remembered from his own training but he got the point and left them to spar with Lee some more.

The ninja called it a day when it became too difficult to see in the dark of what they were doing. Naruto approached a familiar white-eyed woman who had been watching them for the last half hour. Hinata wasn't afraid to be seen watching Naruto at times. Provided she did it in moderation. She still hid if she wanted to see him for longer periods of time. He walked and talked with her about his plans for training until they reached the Hyuuga complex and hugged their goodnight with an innocent kiss to each other's cheeks.


	17. Chapter XVI

**I am going to aim for longer chapters, I've been taking my time over the plot lines and how i want all the characters to develop. Please comment or review, i am likely missing things or things you would have liked to see, its difficult to remember ideas especially when i am away from my laptop. I wouldn't be surprised if you could tell where i stop and start.**

 **Thank you for reading this far.**

 **Two weeks later (or eighteen days after Fukushi vanished with Monica.)**

Naruto had quickly falling into an intense but steady training routine. Each day he'd wake as the sun rose and left after a shower and some food to the training fields. He would go to the most secluded of the fields, one in which only Lee bothers to go to as other people just take the closer, more handy fields to use. The jinchuriki would go through a warm up regime before splitting some clones off to practice the wind jutsu that Sasuke had given him. It was a simple jutsu which essentially pushed a wall of compressed air into the desired direction. Naruto found out he couldn't use his clones to practice the Haraishin. The instructions were good but the way the jutsu worked seemed to disrupt the clones' chakra just enough that they would fail the jutsu and vanish in a puff of smoke. Naruto had to deal with the disorientating effects of teleportation, that and the intense drain on his chakra as the jutsu requires good reserves and a fine-tuned control. He would work through rain or sun to get used to the effects. He no longer simply moved from one side of the field to the other; Naruto was trying to throw the tri-pronged kunai and teleporting before the blade hit his mark and grab it.

There were some distinct differences to Naruto's haraishin and Fukushi's lightning teleportation. For one thing, Naruto didn't cause two lightning strikes as he moved around. Blink and you would miss the very brief flash as Naruto teleported.

Today he had been training in the rain. The weather came thick and fast, striking the ground and causing mini splashes the water impacted the surface. Naruto was catching his breath after another teleport. He was soaked through and his blond hair took more of a dirty brown colour as the water soaked through his clothes. Not even waterproof material could stop this rain. Naruto didn't care though, he appreciated the cool water against his body as the jutsu also left him feeling overheated, probably from exerting energy rather than a side effect.

Kurama was being surprisingly helpful for once. He would sit within Narutos mindscape and tell him when his body and chakra was ready to move again. Two weeks in and Naruto was too disorientated to move for about ten seconds and wasn't ready to teleport again for another five minutes. While was about four minutes, fifty-nine and two-thirds of a second longer than his father, Minato. Naruto took a deep breath and with all his might he threw the kunai across the field. Easily one hundred yards, and fast enough to create a low whistle as the kunai cut through air and rain alike. Naruto immediately concentrated and once his chakra was aligned he held up his left hand and released the jutsu. In a crack of energy, he was by the kunai he had thrown, Naruto managed to grab the blade before it struck the target but as he spun to hit the target on the side, as was the aim of the exercise, he would misjudge his movement and spun too fast only to fall to the floor feeling dizzy; and wet.

Naruto grumbled at the graceless fall. He got up and patted down his ass. Not helping him other than smearing the mud around and getting hand dirty, not that any part of him was clean at this point.

"At least you didn't land on your face this time." Kurama smirked from within.

"Shut up Kurama." Naruto was too tired to really chew Kurama out but he didn't want the fox to walk all over him. "It's been over a week since a made progress with this, why is it so hard?"

"Wouldn't be worth it if it was easy, remember your rasengan?"

Naruto thought for a moment. "Wow that was a long time ago, I remember I destroyed a lot of trees and rocks to get it right."

"So quit bitching and get on with it. Or I'll win bragging rights over Sai"

"It would be a lot easier if I didn't have to wait so long to get my body ready for it again."

"Why don't you leave the target alone and try to get your speed up?"

"Because last time I tried that I was not only sick you swore to kill me in the most horrific way imaginable, you're in sync with my sensors now remember." Naruto had a good point. Kurama had never felt nauseated, until now, and he hated that feeling almost as much as he hated the sharingan. He scrunched up his nose at Naruto then sighed after taking a deep breath.

"Urg fine just get it over with, I won't eat you, much." He grumbled at a barely audible level.

Naruto took a deep breath, he didn't like feeling sick any more than that fox. He threw the special kunai again. Teleported and immediately threw it across the field before grabbing it a third time. Almost losing his footing he threw it a fourth time and managed to teleport. By now he was so disorientated he couldn't even see the trees around the field, it was all just a blur. He managed a fifth teleportation before his body didn't know what to do anymore and to Naruto he thought gravity was in some direction off to his right. He fell painfully into the mud and stayed still to let his head rest. Rain falling over the tired shinobi.

"Hinata is coming boy, unless you want her to think you're sleeping on the job, I'd get up." Kurama advised, although Naruto only attempt at getting up resulted in him putting his hand in the wrong place and falling back to the mud with a groan.

"N-Naruto!" Her startled voice called out. She saw enough to see him fail to get up. Fearing he was injured she rushed to his side in a blink of an eye. "Naruto!"

"Relax, he's just dizzy." Kurama's voice growled out, Hinata just nodded and reached into a small bag she was carrying with her and took out a couple pills with some water. She helped Naruto up who was swaying as his head struggled to stop spinning. Without a word, he took the medicine and stood still trying to recover. They walked to a small shelter that every field had off to one side and Naruto sat. He drank the water before speaking.

"Thanks for that Hinata, I needed it." He gave her a smile. He would have leaned on her as he was still feeling rough but decided against it as she was filthy and she was wearing a white kimono. "Why the fancy wear Hinata?"

"Oh, I just came out of the Hyuuga compound." She blushed. "I wanted to get you something for the nausea so quickly that I didn't bother changing."

"I managed five in a row, which is better than last time I guess." Naruto grinned over his achievement

"Urg but you certainly feel it." It was now Kurama's turn to get the headache. Hinata giggled, she would have never of guessed the famous nine-tailed biju would have such issues with being sick. They sat in the shelter as Naruto was dripping wet and Hinata had the sense to use an umbrella. They listened to the unrelenting rain on the roof and nearby puddles. It was tranquil sitting there and resting as it rained. Eventually Naruto shivered as the cold soaked through to his bones.

"Would you like me to get you some dry clothes?"

"Hmm, not sure, wouldn't they only get wet and dirty. I have to train for a couple more hours yet."

"I just don't want you to catch a cold, who knows how Kurama would feel about it." She poked Naruto's stomach where the seal once was.

"I'll eat you both." He snapped, Kurama would have been intimidating but he spoke with many groans and if they could see him now, he was laying on his back with a paw on his forehead.

"I'll go and get a change of clothes, at least you could go home dry tonight."

"You're probably right, here, my keys." He handed her the keys to his apartment. She had a brief blush on her cheeks but took them and stood up to leave while checking her umbrella. It was crimson red with cherry blossoms patterned over it and contrasted sharply with her pale while figure. She stood outside the shelter and looked at Naruto for a moment. If only he would know how she felt. They were closer than ever before but she wanted more. Smiling at the dirty blond she walked up the path towards Konoha. Naruto smiled back but couldn't help feel a bit lonely in the shelter once she walked up a small bank and down again out of view. Naruto stood up and wiped his face before throwing the kunai with all his might across the training field once more.

An hour passed and Naruto was back to catching his breath as he had just used the hiraishin again. He was getting the hang of this. The rain was falling as much as it had been all day and still didn't show signs of letting up. Hinata approached him again, under the same crimson umbrella but this time she was in her shinobi attire of a thick jacket, waterproof but also covering her figure and lilac in colour and black ninja pants. She was carrying another bag of spare clothes and set them in the dry before joining Naruto. She walked up to him but stopped a couple yards away and readied herself into a battle stance. Bent low, legs apart and hands stretched out and ready to strike. She didn't say a word but Naruto grinned at her.

"Want some training too?"

"Come at me then, Byakugan!" She called out. Naruto thought about closing the distance with his new jutsu but decided he probably would be too open. He opted to run at her and engaged in hand-to-hand combat. While Naruto was able to push her about she quickly recovered and her gentle fist hurt. Not on full strength but enough to simulate the effects in real combat. They jumped back and shook off the aches from hitting each other's arms and hands.

"Want to make this interesting?"

Hinata smiled, she felt most comfortable around him and she knew that she was at his side, even if they were meant to be sparring against each other. "Sure, what would you like _if_ you beat me?" She stressed the if.

"A massage?" Naruto's forwardness made her blush which was the opening he needed to test his new jutsu, the air fist. He wove the signs before Hinata could recover and sent a wall of compressed air to her. The jutsu picked up the rain making her very wet as she was splashed by it. Knocked over backwards, Hinata landed in a handstand before jumping back the right way. Naruto noted the effect of knocking opponents back.

"Eight trigrams: Sixty-four palms." Naruto gulped as he realised he's unleashed the Hyuuga monster, he'd much rather fight Kurama than face the gentle fist. He parried her first two attacks. Parried the next four but now she was getting too fast for him to retaliate. "Eight palms." she called out and chased Naruto as he tried to back off. She struck him twice in the left shoulder and his arm felt numb as the chakra was cut up. "sixteen palms." Hinata was really letting him have it. But Naruto flicked his special kunai off to one side before she hit him again. Just before her hand would have struck him in the gut he flashed a few paces to her right. He Flicked the kunai back and flashed back in front of her, a fist implanted into the Hyuugas gut followed by a swinging kick to her chest. Going easy didn't help either of them and now with steaks on the table they threw the gloves off. Hinata jumped back after the kick, another summersault and she was after Naruto again, charging her chakra into her fists.

"Twin lion fists!" With her left she punched Naruto in the stomach and with the second she gave him an uppercut to the chin. Naruto flew in the air but before Hinata got a few free strikes the Naruto in front of her burst to smoke. She turned around and expertly palmed the flying kunai out of the air despite being unarmed. She spied the last one was three-pronged and got ready for Naruto to appear in-front of her. No. Behind. She felt a kick to the back as the kunai was used as a good distraction from the real attack. She tumbled into the mud and stood up breathing heavily and now just as muddy as Naruto. Her hair was soaked and stuck closely to her scalp.

Naruto took a deep breath. "Shadow clone Jutsu!" and four Naruto's appeared and charged at Hinata who closed her eyes and channelled her chakra into the rain falling over them. Her gentle fist attacks fall, literally, on the clones and caused them to poof into smoke. Naruto was expecting this, and used the smoke as cover. He threw a mix of regular and special kunai. Teleporting by Hinata and swiped her feet out from under her. She rolled and got up in time to intercept Naruto. Suddenly, the girl slipped on the mud and fell on Naruto who broke her fall but immediately took advantage and rolled over so he was on top instead and held a kunai to her neck signalling that he had won.

Their pair were face to face and in the heat of the moment Naruto leaned in for a kiss. He had to stop himself as he realised they were no longer alone but Hinata still tried to pull him back down before realising herself. Hinata was in deep red blush, almost shining through the mud. Naruto sat up to see Kakashi in his Hokage attire, with him was Anko and Kurenai. They had been wanting to check up on how their old students were getting along. Kakashi knew about Naruto being here. Found Kurenai who was looking for Hinata to catch up and ask her to babysit. Logic being the two were together. Anko just so happened to be at the right place at the right time and had a 'good feeling' that coming along as a good idea. She was not disappointed. They watched the sparring match came to a close, only to see a young couple, wet and dirty fall on each other and almost loose themselves in the moment.

"You did that on purpose Hinata." Anko called out trying to hold back her laughter. Naruto looked like a startled deer in headlights. He quickly realised he was saddling Hinata and jumped up off the now muddy girl. "I get it, you wanted some alone time." She waved her hands dismissively. "But please not outside, or at least not in the village."

"It's not what it looks like!" Naruto begged. Rubbing his shoulder as he realised it was now completely numb, he knew it was going to sting later as well. Hinata had poured her full strength into those strikes.

"Come on out of the wet you two." Kakashi called trying to change the subject. If he hadn't been the one to make his presence known, then Kurenai would remain in a silent shock and Anko in a silent intrigue. "I appreciate you trying to stick you your regime but if you get ill at this rate you'll end up losing more time."

"Mhn Hinata was saying that earlier." He helped her up off the muddy floor.

"Hokage's orders." Kakashi spoke softer but still loud enough above the rain. "Shall we get going? Not like you're gonna get any wetter out here."

Reluctantly Naruto agreed, he had about two-three hours before nightfall but it was too difficult to tell in the storm

"I am too muddy to go back now." Hinata sighed. Her father wouldn't let her back into the compound with a ten-foot pole when she was this dirty. The Hyuuga clan had a thing for cleanness, which made the post training cleaning the bane of her life. "You go ahead I have a change of clothes here."

"Urm." Naruto blushed. "You can get changed at mine, at least it's warm and dry there, and I don't mind the mud." He scratched the back of his head which at this point just swirled mud into his hair. Anko and Kakashi looked at each other trying to hold back a knowing grin, well as best as you could tell behind Kakashi's mask. Both had read far too much of Jiraiya's work in the Icha Icha series to not know where this was leading. Perhaps the blond did know about her feelings. In secret Hinata had been building up the courage by asking, mostly Kurenai, but also had the mistake of asking Anko about it. She had been weaving her influence ever since.

Kurenai, who was the sweet romantic type, smiled at the thoughtful gesture. "If you like, I can lend you some of my soaps, I doubt Naruto has anything a woman should use."

"That would be very generous of you, sensei." Hinata replied and giving her a slight bow which made her heavy hair fall in front of her face.

The pair of young ninja gathered their stuff and started walking back towards the city centre.

Rain. It had been raining all day now and other in Konoha who were braving the weather were few in number and those who were out were rushing to their destination. Many of the drains were overflowing and it felt like there were small streams and waterfalls falling off every building. Kakashi made his way to the Hokage tower in a shunshin as the many duties called him to return as soon as he had finished his break.

The pair of younger shinobi were getting a few looks of pity as they marched through the town caked in mud. Anko and Kurenai were both ahead and talking to each other. Naruto couldn't hear them over the rain but could probably tell what the topic was as Kurenai slapped Anko back and called her a pervert. Hinata was lost in thought and so the two walked in silence. Little did Naruto know she was building up the courage to fulfill the bet and give Naruto a massage.

"Alright we are here, I would invite you out of the rain but." Kurenai tried to break it to them gently.

"You two are more dirty than Jiraiya's mind." Anko continued for her.

"That and if Mirai hugged you…"

"We get it, we will wait under your porch." Naruto finished.

"Thank you for understanding." Kurenai sang as she entered her home with Anko. Five minutes later which Hinata and Naruto talking about the thunder-god technique, how he managed to do it without feeling too disorientated because he was focussing on the match and not on the technique. Hinata, on the other hand, was still apologising for slipping and falling onto Naruto. They had just made up, not that Naruto was offended but the sentiment was there, when Kurenai reappeared with Mirai in one arm and a bag of shampoo, soaps, and oils in the other. Hinata accepted the bag.

"Oh, I would offer an umbrella but I think it's a bit late for that. You two get dry fast unless you catch a cold."

"Thanks." The pair muttered and with a sigh they begrudgingly walked back into the rain. Naruto's apartment wasn't far from Kurenai's house and the two decided to pick up the pace to get out of the wet sooner. After thumbing for his keys, Naruto burst through the door and immediately walked to the dial and turned on the heating.

"You can take the first shower, I'll get you a towel." With that he left for his room and within a minute he throws a towel out onto the sofa and closes the door to get changed. Hinata looked around his apartment. Brand new from being rebuilt when Pein destroyed it before the war. Through lack of use the place had remained clean, Hinata remembered what his old apartment looked like. The apartment contained a central living room with three doors leading to other rooms. To her left was the far door to Naruto's room and the closer door was his bathroom. To her right was the open door to his kitchen to which she could see the oven and a line of cabinets and shelves. The living room had a small coffee table in between a TV and a sofa. The floor was wooden throughout but covered in rugs which she tried to no get mud on. He had one other seat which was part of the set along with the sofa. Hinata smiled as this was the first time she was invited in properly and not faint within five minutes of being asked or enter without Naruto present. She stepped into the bathroom and started to peel off her jacket. Everything felt dirty as she stripped but the feeling of the warm water was heaven to her body once she actually got under the stream. She blushed as she remembered something. She was naked and in Naruto's house!

Naruto wasn't the only one who was freaking somewhat. Hinata was the first girl his age that he had invited in as well. He had changed into clean, casual clothes but still had dirt in his hair and face so he was going to take the second shower. He blushed. After Hinata. For what felt like hours he finally heard a knock on the door.

"C-can I come in?"

"Sure." Naruto tried to hide his blush as she entered his room. She was wearing leggings and a shirt which revealed her shapely figure.

"I owe you a massage, but I take it you want a shower first." Hinata asked with a soft sweet voice although you could tell she was nervous.

Naruto nodded and slowly got up and picked up a towel. He couldn't help but look at Hinata in a way someone should look onto a goddess. To him, Hinata was certainly a goddess. Someone who accepted everything about him and more importantly had his back, now he was doing many missions with her. He could trust her with his life at a moments notice.

Kurama, on the other hand, was looking with intrigue. Her bag was open and he could see a book with an orange cover. An unmistakable orange of the Icha Icha series. Yes, other books have orange covers but he could see enough of the art style to have a pretty accurate guess. 'Oh, this is going to be interesting.' Naruto was too busy looking at the main spectacle to notice this little detail and Kurama smiled a more perverted smile, one that would have made Jiraiya proud. In ways Naruto influenced the biju, perversion is one emotion that the fox didn't mind. It made his relatively dull life within Naruto much more interesting. Sometimes him and Naruto would just sit and giggle about things they had heard in the day. Only when no one is around. The sight of Naruto giggling to himself, alone, would unnerve anyone who saw.

Kurama managed to read with Naruto the Icha Icha series. At first it was all about honouring Jiraiyas memory but it quickly grew into enjoyment and so Naruto's road to corruption was complete. He knew Naruto had a crush on Hinata and often had to slap himself that she was the pinnacle of innocence and would be grossly offended if Naruto let slip that he was a pervert. However, what he saw changed all previous opinion on the Hyuuga heiress.

Kurama although had a more masculine features, outlook, power, and voice he technically is not a male and has no concept of genders, because he was made of chakra and not flesh and blood. Not that he was ignorant to sex or the pleasures it brings. But he never uses it as basis to judge or pre-determine characteristics. Nor did he understand the social ques around it, which had made it awkward for Naruto to masturbate. More-so now that Naruto is aware he is able to feel the same sensations. Often demanding that Kurama shuts off his sensors and not pay attention.

Naruto had finished the shower by now and was getting dressed before returning to Hinata who seemed to be getting everything ready. Kurama at this point guessed she was using the Icha Icha to get ideas of what to do with Naruto. Her face was bright red as she suggested with her hand to lay on the bed. Naruto slowly complied and lay on the bed.

"Erm, could you take your top off." Hinata whispered.

"Wha? Oh? Yeah." Naruto slowly slipped off his top to reveal a toned body, his skin looked like it had faint tiger stipes. The biju healing powers worked wonders on any injury but left small marks which would be invisible but Hinata was close enough to see the slight variations in colour. The Hyuuga girl was blushing a deep crimson by now as she kneeled by Naruto's laying body. She carefully poured a little bit of the oil that kurenai had given her onto her hand and rubbed the smooth liquid in between her fingers. She took a deep breath and placed her hands onto his shoulders. Naruto tensed up momentarily out of reflex but soon relaxed as Hinata rubbed oil down his back. Hinata had never practiced massaging but the icha icha books that Anko advised did have some details on how to do it. She wanted to try out the happy ending that usually follows but she felt that Naruto would judge her for it and all her hard work would be thrown to the wind.

Pressing her thumbs below the shoulder blades and her fingers on the top of the shoulder blades she rubbed up and down on the spot where her thumbs were pressing to either side of his spine. Every minute or two she would move her hands two inches down and continued. Once she reached the small of his back she rubbed up to his shoulders and almost grabbing them only putting the pressure in the palms of her hands. She continued to work over his shoulder muscles. Naruto just had his eyes closed and relaxing as her hands warmed up finally and were working wonders over his back. He hadn't realised how much the strain of training put onto his body until Hinata rubbed all the stress away.

"Oh god yes, right there, please." Kurama's voice suddenly echoed out causing the pair to jump. "Urg I wish I knew you so much sooner, my god this feels good."

"Kurama!" Naruto snapped.

"Heh, sorry, you gotta tell them how good it feels. It's my first massage too you know."

"I keep forgetting you can feel everything." Naruto would have complained more but Hinata had saddled herself into a more comfortable position on Naruto's ass and started massaging with renewed passion.

"Mmm you know how to pick the perfect ones." Kurama growled quietly under his breath.

"Does it really feel that good?" Hinata asked after a few minutes of massage, Naruto looked over his shoulder at the young woman who had her byakugan on and she was tracing out his chakra network with her finger.

"The best feeling I've felt ever."

"T-then could you turn over?" Naruto did as was asked and was laying down looking up at the most beautiful woman he had the luck to know. Her byakugan was now off and left her eyes relaxed and giving him a caring or loving look. "Let me heal where I struck you today." She carefully rubbed his collar bone where Naruto took two gentle fist strikes. At first, he was reminded how painful those sores were but with every touch the pain ebbed away. Hinata was applying some of her chakra to help heal the nodes that were forcibly switched off.

Naruto was grateful he had the foresight to tuck his cock in the right way. She was sitting on his hip and leaning over him while gently massaging his chest now. He didn't want to ruin the moment by poking her with his arousal. However, Hinata was fully aware of what she was doing to him but she wanted him to see her as innocent so she chose not to act on it.

"Hinata?" Naruto blushed. "Could you kiss me?"

She smiled and placed her hands onto his cheeks and leaned in for a kiss. Her heart was racing as they kissed for several minutes before she sat up for air. Her lips felt soft and tingled a bit as she touched them. Naruto was spacing out from the kiss as it must have been equally amazing for him. The girl laid over her childhood lover and snuggled into his chest. Once she got comfortable she sighed.

"I wish I could spend all night like this."

"Why don't you?"

Hinata shook her head. "No my father will be looking for me. But next time I'll let you massage me, see if it feels as good as you and kurama says."

"Trust me, if he could be half as good as you were you'd feel amazing." Kurama butted in.

"I wish you wouldn't butt in these moments." Naruto sighed.

"What are you gonna do? Seal me?" Kurama teased.

"No but I'll beat your foxy ass if you keep butting in."

"I bet she doesn't mind."

"Ermm" Hinata managed but she was blushing too much. "I guess not."

"See kid?"

The pair chatted on for some more but they started to listen to the rain for a while longer before Hinata admitted she probably should be going back to her compound before her dad rips into her. Naruto thanked her for the massage and for sparring with him earlier. With a second kiss, she left the boy to his apartment. He sighed and immediately felt lonely and cold.

"You know you'll see her tomorrow. And you're getting the Hiraishin down nicely too." Kurama spoke quietly. He knew about Naruto's lonely past first hand but until now he never actually was capable of feeling anything but hatred. Naruto threw himself onto his bed and his last thought before sleeping was that he could still smell Hinata's lavender-like scent.


	18. Chapter XVII

**Well that's annoying i accidentally lost all my edits, excuse for the time wait to post again, i got shafted by one deadline after another so i had little to no time to write more. I have been doing a lot of reading and research so hopefully you can see it in my writing, I've been trying to improve my descriptions more and make a more varied read for you all. But please continue to review and give me feedback because it helps amazingly well. especially since this is my first story and i don't know many of the tips or trends of the fan-fic world.**

 **Please continue your support, cheers.**

 **p.s. nearly had to do the edits three times. ~.~**

 **Sakura and Sasuke's point of view, a day later as the storm had passed, somewhere in the land of fire.**

Two shinobi were seen walking down the road. One had a dark blue cloak covering him and long black hair that covered his left eye. The other worse a white with red rims on the bottom of the cloak and showed bright bubble-gum pink hair. The pair was none other than Sasuke and Sakura, walking in a comfortable silence and side by side. Instead of his usual glare, Sasuke was looking around him and a mildly interested look. Since Naruto had proved that there was more to the world than simple hatred. Sasuke looked up and around and noticed the world around him and how peaceful it really felt. For this reason, you could argue that he even enjoyed Sakura's company. Her companionship was one of mutual desire, one of which Sasuke hadn't experienced since he abandoned the Leaf Village.

As for Sakura, her heart was finally settled. From crush to full blown love, Sasuke had been a heavy weight. With all things said and done she finally was able to be with him. She had noticed the Uchiha had developed some quirks. for example, this one, neither had spoken in around an hour but he was lost in deep thought and it was easy to read his face. He was debating many things to himself. Sakura was curious to what was going through his mind but dared not to ask, in case he took things the wrong way. Last thing she wanted was to ruin her bonds that she worked so hard to maintain.

The pair were walking to a village west from the Leaf. It was another simple farming village but one ran by a rich noble. His name was Tsunchi Origarna, from what she heard the name was one of the better types of noble. Often not ripping off those who worked on his land. Instead they were spending money on interesting artefacts. Of which Sasuke had a good guess that he had one of those coveted pages that Fukushi was willing to kill others for. Sasuke already knew the man from his travels and so he doubted there would be any trouble seeing him now. So the two walked on, the sun was surprisingly hot in the late summer months despite the miserable weather that poured the day before. Despite the shade provided by the trees to either side of the road provided the cooling relief from the heat the air was still humid and made everything clammy to the touch. After an hour of walking down the main road the shinobi turned off to a relatively small track leading up the hill and past a few fields with tall un-ripe grain growing in long rows. Occasionally a gentle breeze shifted the grain in waves like the ocean and lightly tugged of Sakuras and Sasuke's hair.

"You're a lot quieter than you used to be." Sasuke's voice cut through the silence, snapping Sakura out of her own daze.

She sighed. "It's nothing, just one of those days I guess."

"If you're worried about offending me, you can put those thoughts to rest you know." He looked over his shoulder at her.

"I'm just not used to you like this, you tried to kill me before."

"Sorry." Sakura looked with a shocked expression at the man while he broke eye contact and looked away. "I don't expect you to forgive me."

"Call me and idiot, but I already have."

"But I haven't done anything to earn forgiveness, not yet anyway, hmph, you're sounding like Naruto."

"You don't need to, you know that I love you."

"Then at least let me earn your affection."

Sakura stopped dead in the road. Had he just said that? Did he mean it? Sasuke could only chuckle to himself.

"Is it really that surprising? You're one of the people I've hurt the most so I could never be truly forgiven if I don't first redeem myself in your eyes." Sasuke continued. He was always vague about his true feeling but Sakura was slowly adding up the clues left behind. Maybe he was being won over by her? After all he was only accepted by two people, Sakura and Naruto. But before Sakura could continue, Sasuke pointed out that they were there.

The pair walked through a wooden gateway to see an open garden leading up to a small hill where the eastern style mansion stood. The hillside had three tiers of garden that snaked up towards the house itself. There were many streams, ponds, exotic looking plants. Everything protected by high walls making each tiers feel like itself own world. Sakura, who had some knowledge of plants spied several rare herbs among the flowers which were still in their summer bloom. Ino would love it here.

Soon they reached the grand entrance and Sasuke knocked on the large oak double doors. After a minute of waiting a young man opened the door, he was in his late teens and wearing formal work ware. He politely bowed at the shinobi.

"Ah, Sasuke, we weren't expecting you. Please follow me to my master, they are in the greenhouse." The man signalled them in and the pair followed him through the building to a central courthouse with a glass ceiling and more plants with water features in the centre of the room. Tsunchi and his wife were sitting together and watching the fish swim in the pond. They were an elderly couple wearing equally smart robes of dark purples and bright golds. The wife being more ornate than the man. They both had similar grey hair and spent their golden years enjoying the wealth they had worked to get. Clearly not like most nobles who were born into such luxuries. The two looked up and instantly recognised the Uchiha.

"Oo! Sasuke, what a surprise, come sit. Bring your girlfriend here too." The elder woman spoke with enthusiasm and caused Sakura to blush a bright pink, almost to the colour of her hair. "I knew you would attract such a beautiful young woman, eee I told you didn't I dear?"

The old man chuckled. "Yes, you're right as ever." The young pair sat with the Origarna couple. Sasuke slightly smirked with amusement.

"I agree you seem to have quite the foresight in such things." Sasuke replied and caused Sakura to blush more.

"So how about introductions, what's your name sweetie?" The wife spoke.

"I-I'm Sakura Haruno." She gave a bow and a deep breath.

"I'm Kazuko and this is my husband, Tsunchi." The elderly lady smiled.

"So, what brings you two here?" Tsunchi spoke. "Not that I might you coming here. We enjoy the company, just we also know that you're a man of business." He gestured at the two guests to take a seat out of the numerous The same man who showed them in came back with some tea and started to pour a cup for the two shinobi who took up their drinks and quietly sipped before Sasuke replied.

"You are right, but we are after something of yours, at least I hope you have it. If not I hope that your connections could still help us to find what we are looking for."

"Oh? becoming a collector yourself?" Tsunchi smiled. "Taking it after me? Very well see if I can help you."

"We are looking for a particular type of artefact, a page but written in an unknown language which I believe is from the far west. The page should look faded and about A-three large, flat but I am sure many of them are rolled up by now."

The old man leaned back and thought deeply about his collection. After a minute or two he looked like he remembered something and spoke. "Follow me." He slowly got up and signalled for Sasuke to follow. Sakura decided to stay and talk to Kazuko, she felt bad leaving her by herself and she was sure Sasuke had a better idea of the house than she did.

Tsunchi's library was impressive. A large room spanning two stories and had many ladders and staircases leading to separate showcases of many object found throughout the world. Many objects included rare books, jewellery, weapons, armour, and other trinkets and small secrets of the world. Tsunchi lead Sasuke to his study which was a much smaller room behind the library but equally full of interesting research that Sasuke was sure he'd find interesting if he had the time, but a shinobi's life he had and so a shinobi's life he must lead.

"It's interesting you should ask for that because I got one page two months ago, and another last week. Their price plummeted for some reason but I think they are very interesting. Especially when some are given the names of 'Cursed pages'. I'm afraid I just can't help myself. While I don't believe in curses. I do know our world holds many mysteries."

"You know you're right, the paper isn't cursed." Sasuke clarified and the many muttered in agreement. "But there is someone going after these pages and he's been killing anyone who has them. This is why I was going to ask for them off you."

"Hmm that does sound bad. It's nice to see you thought of us though." Tsunchi chuckled as he emptied the content of an envelope. "I tried to translate through this company that had recently set up, ah what's their name. 'Scrutator curators'. I think, they seemed to be keen on artefacts so I thought I would give them a try."

The two men crowded around the study table and Sasuke picked up the sheet of paper and glanced over. His sharingan activated as he glanced over the page, the crimson red picking up all the details instantly. Somehow recognising the words just like he was able to understand the spirit left in Fukushi's head. He had no actual knowledge of the language but the sharingan neatly filled out the gaps and somehow Sasuke understood.

"Yeah, it's a page I'm looking for, although it looks different to the ones I've seen before." He looked up at his host who had seen the sharingan before when Sasuke was last here so he wasn't fazed by it. They gazed at the letter next to it, there were two, one had all the administration and that their translation was successful. The second page was the translation itself. A page of story about a battle between all eight major families of the far west. While the families didn't own much of the land they still held themselves as the most important powers. The repeated skirmishes only lead to the eight families into stalemates. Wealth and strategy as well as numbers equalled each other on every attempt, being so far from each other and allowing each family to flourish under their own steam. Soon each of the greater families grew tired of fighting for names sake and decided to end on a tournament. Each looser, by death or surrender, had to provide the rest who were at the point undefeated a secret or resource of their family. Meaning the first looser had to give something to seven families while the winner of all eight families gave nothing. The page mentioned nothing of the winning order but mentioned that the Solaris Family took last place, not through defeat but they did not mind sharing some of their 'power' with the other families. Sasuke assumed they meant ninjutsu. In turn they earned respect despite the defeat. While the Lapis family ultimately won, they did so undignified as they were the only who didn't offer a close family member of their main branch to be their champion but instead a infamous warrior who killed more than subdued his opponents. The Lapis Family ended up losing the most as the other families turned their backs on them out of shame or disgust. Dates of this suggests that this happened a very long time ago, long before the shinobi villages were founded in the known world.

Sasuke frowned a little. "So how did they translate this?"

"What do you mean?" The old man looked at Sasuke curiously.

"It's from a very far place where they don't speak our language." Sasuke sighed as he put the translation down. "You said you had this for two months. That is no time to work out something as complex as a language."

"So you think that they know about this far off place?" The man thought for a moment while Sasuke kept silent, he closed his eyes to listen to what Tsunchi would conclude. "I guess it would make sense if they are after the pages too. Most nobles mind their own business and have nothing to do with the larger politics. They would be perfect targets to turn in pages, and if they just copy and return them. No one would be the wiser over it."

"Do you mind if I take these? After all you're a target if you keep them."

"Hm yeah take them, I don't want any trouble. But Sasuke my dear boy. If this rogue shinobi is taking them by force, then why change tactics?"

"I don't know, maybe if he is wanting to keep quiet then I guess it would be a sound strategy. But the time lines don't add up. Our shinobi problem has been illusive for almost three weeks now." Sasuke gritted his teeth. "I don't want to admit this, but it feels like someone else knows about the pages."

"I don't have many details but I've never seen you worked up over something, take the pages and I hope things aren't as bad as it seems." Tsunchi sighed heavily, he loved collecting but hated letting go. Nevertheless, two sheets of paper were not worth his or his families' life.

"There is something you could help me with. Firstly, tell me where you had gone to get that translation, secondly could you find out who is selling more of those pages and send the information to the Leaf, tell them I asked you to."

"Oh hmm, best I can do is an address to where to post the artefacts, a collection point in the town of Kawazu. It's about a day's walk away although it is evening now. You and your partner could rest here."

"No thank you, we've asked enough of you and like to head off as soon as possible." Sasuke quickly had gone to work storing the two pages into a sealing scroll and pocketing it in one of many hidden pockets. Without much to say Sasuke returned to Sakura who was busy chatting to lady Origarna about how Sasuke had saved their son from a farming accident, they were very grateful of his abilities and later learned exactly how powerful the man was.

"Sakura, we're leaving."

"Oh but Sasuke dear it's getting late." Kazuko chimed out

"I already offered them dear, they have to be somewhere." Tsunchi interrupted.

"Something came up and we have to investigate, Tsunchi if you could find out anything please remember to contact the Leaf over it." Sasuke headed to the main doorway just as Sakura patter herself down and bowed in thanks. She followed Sasuke to the main doorway and the pair walked out into the setting sun, the evening insects starting to make their move now. Sasuke walked at a much faster pace than Sakura was expecting and she had to run to catch up.

"Sasuke, why the rush?" Sakura called out before she could reach him.

"Someone else is after the pages. And not Fukushi or Monica" Sakura froze momentarily to this.

"He told me something, Fukushi, that those pages contained 'death jutsu'." The two marched down the road towards the main highway.

"He might know something that we don't. It'll explain his reckless behaviour. if he has pressure to get them"

"Doesn't excuse him for killing many people."

"Right, but this is far from a mad man, desperate, but not mad."

"So where are we heading? Are we going to find Fukushi? You seem like you know where you're going."

"I managed to get an address, I doubt it'll be this easy but it's a better start than who most missions go on."

"I can go on all night, we should hurry."

"Good." Sasuke nodded and if he could smile he would have to Sakura right now as the moment called for it.

Through their enhanced paced from their shinobi skilled the two ninja arrived at the supposed address for collecting artefacts. The building looked plain and sat separated from the nearby town. They had been running through the night and it had not quite reached morning when the early risers would wake up and start their daily routines. Picking a good vantage point in the trees so they could see the front of the building. Plane as it looked it also showed that it was new as well. The wood wasn't weathered and moss had not yet grown over the stone walls. Sasuke and Sakura rested in silence, their plan was to catch whoever entered the building and go on from there. A simple plan that should not go wrong. Sasuke was first to sleep, Sakura persuaded him that he would be more useful during more lively hours for people to enter the building. Hours ticked by and not even a traveller had passed by. Much to Sasuke's surprise, Sakura kept up a serious face the entire time. Concentrating intensely when she was on watch and allowing Sasuke to concentrate when she was resting. More mature than he had remembered, as it was back to his turn to rest now he was remembering his time as a genin in Team 7.

"Someone's coming." She hissed in a hushed tone. Sasuke immediately stood up to look and sure enough a single man, carrying nothing but the clothes on his back, walked up and unlocked the front of the shop. He hadn't noticed the two shinobi approach from behind.

"Excuse me, I was wondering is this the place to post artefacts to 'Scrutator curators'."

The man jumped as he hadn't realised he had company. "Oh hmph you know there is a deposit box."

"True but I wanted to ask you something, you see my partner and myself are representatives of Tsunchi, who had used your services and wanted to not only use you again but meet up with you personally." Sasuke lied, Sakura knew because he was smiling and had a positive tone added to his voice, he sounded like Sai trying to fit in. However, she herself had also taken on a smiley persona and nodded at the man.

"Yes if possible could you direct us to the company themselves."

"Hmm sorry I can't I am just a runner." The man looked them up and down. "Why did he use shinobi for just a messenger job?"

"Well who else better to do a job than us?"

"Hmph well I can't help you."

"But you must deliver it to someone?" Sasuke interrupted.

"You sure you want to know?"

"Yes it would be a great help." Sakura smiled once more. But the man slumped a little and slowly turned to point somewhere into the bushes.

"There."

A deafening bang, like the sound of thunder and a cloud of smoke erupted from the bush. Sasuke immediately activated his sharingan and without missing a beat he tilted his head out of the way as the round projectile missed where his head was a split second ago. Followed by a dull thud of the wood behind. The two shinobi did not stick around. Splitting off and throwing kunai into the smoke. The runner simply ducked and hid in the building.

Meanwhile about fifty paces away and cursing to every god under the stars. Was a second man in a crouched position. He had a kunai in his leg and was tried to stuff the next shot in the barrel. 'We weren't told that shinobi would find out about us, fuck this. I need to get out of here' He half muttered and half thought to himself. He threw himself onto the floor and trying to ignore the white-hot pain from the kunai in his leg. He took aim only to see the space in front of the building empty.

"Fuck they are fast." He scanned the area to see anything. "Come on one was bright pink for fuck sake." He pushed himself up to try and move. Wobbling on his leg. He felt a blade press against his throat. Through fear he tensed up and froze like a statue.

"Interesting, you have no shinobi skills yourself. So, who might you be?" Sasuke spoke with cold venom dripping in his worlds. Sakura kept her guard up and scanned the immediate area for reinforcements. Before the captured man could say anything a second shot somewhere much further rang out. The two ninja moved but Sasuke quickly realised that they weren't the target. The man who had tried to shoot Sasuke was blown back by the force of the shot. They could feel the chakra in the air as the projectile was enhanced by some sort of jutsu. The killed man quickly turned to dirt right before their eyes and crumbled half into a pile while his legs and lower torso was still made of human flesh.

Sakura covered her mouth in shock as the man was far beyond saving right now. The two knew where the shot came from and took cover by the trees nearby but the wait felt like agonising hours. Before Sasuke decided to test the waters and peak to see if he could spot the second attacker.

"Whoever it was, they are gone." Sasuke spoke after standing out fully. Sakura ad himself walked to the obviously dead man. "Ah, damn the equipment was damaged. a effective jutsu for covering evidence3." They observed that only the muzzle of the rifle was left intact but the ammo or the powder that Sasuke saw him use was destroyed and turned to dirt. He still picked up the remains and sealed them into a scroll. They both turned to the building and looked at eachother.

"Do you think he knows anything?" Sakura gloomily suggested before the pair walked towards the building, Sasuke needn't answer that question. They burst through the door to see a man sitting on the desk and waiting for the shinobi to return. Once he saw them enter.

"I take it he's dead then?"

"We didn't kill him." Sasuke said.

"Someone else shot him. With err whatever those weapons were called" Sakura added.

The man shook his head. "I don't know either. Honest!" He flinched as Sasuke drew out his sword. "The man you killed hired me, no one else. I was to man the shop and he kept watch for any unsavoury visitors. He was cocky though, he definitely was not a ninja but said he could take one out. I am guessing that he was wrong."

"So you really don't know anything."

"I wish I did, but he told me to keep my mouth shut and not ask questions."

Sasuke sighed. "I don't think we will find anything else out, they must have had a contingency plan. He turned with a flick of his cloak and replaced his sword by his hip. Sakura turned around, a little more cautiously but left with her beloved.

"Wait, I do know one thing. I am sorry I couldn't help you more, but, we never worked in the rain."

"Right." Was Sasuke's only response.

The two shinobi walked down away from the building.

"What now Sasuke?"

"We need to talk to the Hokage, it's a bit too important for a letter now."


	19. Chapter XVIII

**I've noticed something, a lot of people apologise at the start of every chapter, including myself, just something I've noticed. Anyway next chapter, I have written a lot of the next chapter too but i think i might be rewriting chapter 2, it's a bit short for one of the key events in the story.**

 **Please continue to show support with reviews, comments, wishes, follows and favourites.**

 **Naruto's and Hinata's recovery mission. Twenty-six days since Fukushi fought off Naruto.**

"Naruto? Naruto, you in there?" A quiet knock followed by a quiet voice, it was Hinata, knocking on Narutos front door to his apartment. She was worried that her voice wouldn't be loud enough for Naruto. In the past, it would have been nigh on impossible to wake the boy this early in the morning. For a Hyuuga, seven was the time you were at least awake and starting the morning ritual, training, or house-work. Though Hinata had the 'luxury' to practice more womanly arts of sewing or painting this early. Today however, Lord Kakashi had asked for them to see him as early as possible for a mission. She had a guess it was to pick up another page, this would make it the forth mission and it was ideal for both herself and Naruto to quickly go and get them. Shino, Kiba, Lee, and Tenten were still on training duties and won't be properly available to help with the situation for a few months still. The new genin had a much less eventful year for them. With the exception of Lee's team. So training had been pretty vanilla, without shortcuts and no less time consuming. Again, apart from Lee's team who had stepped up to Lee's level of activity and training, improving the two genin at a frightening rate. Choji was the only exception of the friendship group. He was organising security in the new sections of the village, new people arriving had meant the village had grown into something alike a city. Though through careful planning by Kakashi the layout was wide and fluid with many green areas and in keeping with its forested heritage of which the village founded itself on.

Hinata was about to give in and come back in half an hour when Naruto opened the door.

"Oh morning Hinata, I thought it was you." He looked her up and down and gave her a smile and breathed in the morning air. "Another mission? Alright!"

"Yes, we should get a move on. Kakashi said he is waiting for us now." she blushed a little when she saw her love.

"Give me a second." Naruto quickly hugged the girl and left her at the doorway blushing brightly. A minute passed before he returned with breakfast, a pot of ramen. "I'll have to eat this on the way over." He tucked into the hot dish as he walked side by side with Hinata. He was eating slower for two reasons. First, he was moving and had to concentrate on where he was going. Second, Naruto was trying to earn more respect from her father. He had overheard the complaints as he ranted to some of his family members as they had worked him up over it. Hiashi was usually icy cold and never showed any sort of emotion. Like a living statue he could stare anyone down and he had the air of authority from it. He led the Hyuuga clan but his influence stretches beyond the compound and into the village as a whole. He had but one flaw, Hinata, he loved his daughter and did his best to give her everything she needed. Granted he didn't always get this right. A good example being Naruto, at first, he tried his hardest to persuade Hinata subtly not to see the young Uzumaki. Over time he got harsher and desperate in fear the boy would ruin the family's reputation. All of which changed over the course of Naruto's career. Despite nit-picking at his childish behaviour and eating habits, Hiashi now respects Naruto. He had made it clear, and to put it in his words, he wished that Naruto was 'better house trained' before he would openly support Hinata to be with him. Without a doubt this was probably the main reason the couple weren't official so Naruto could be spared from the wrath of Hiashi.

They walked side by side through the plaza and headed straight for the Hokage tower, standing tall in front of the stone faces, now numbered in six as Kikashi's face was constructed once he took up the kage's hat. The walls were painted bright red as to show the will of fire and stood as a much more impressive building since Pein destroyed the village. To anyone who knew the building, most of the floors had boring offices in which you could find Shikamaru working as hard as he could without being troublesome. The ground floor held the council chambers, being the biggest room with many smaller corridors and rooms jutting off the base of the tower. From the angle that Naruto could see, the large windows of the Hokage's office. Of which the Hokage could peer down and survey the village from the vantage point right at the top.

Within minutes the two were standing infront of Naruto's old sensei, now Hokage, Kakashi. He had a much smaller pile of papers than usual but the pair passed it off as the next pile had not arrived yet.

"Morning." Kakashi spoke causally and waved them to relax. "How goes your training?"

Hinata smiled while Naruto grinned and gave him the thumbs up. "It's going great, I think I'll be there in a weeks' time actually." He still grinned which scratching his head. "I guess that makes you the closest one to guess how long it would take to learn the Hiarishin." This earned him a quiet growl off Kurama who was half asleep still but knew he lost the bet. Kikashi smiled under his mask and turned to Hinata.

"I've been practicing my trigrams still Lord Kakashi."

He sighed at the lord. But after taking a deep breath he gave his orders. "This one is slightly different, still picking up a page from a noble like last time but the idiot is wanting to make this public. He is saying so it proves he doesn't have it but now he is in danger, should our favourite two rogues attack."

"Still no word?"

"No, Sai says he has almost located the area they are in but for now, just rumours. A lot of bounty hunters and rogue assassins from the bingo book are going missing though, their bounties are not collected but we are assuming they have been killed."

Naruto crossed his arms. "Not exactly an amazing feat now though." He was referring to the Bingo books' lack of colourful characters since the war. The new entries were a dime a dozen and couldn't hold a candle to the likes of itachi, pein, or the rest of the Akatsuki.

"True, well, the mission details are in this scroll. The man in question is known as Saratobi, another noble who is terrified that he is going to die, so has paid us enough for an A rank mission. If you don't find Fukushi or Monica this would probably be boring to you, but needs to be done." Kakashi sighed and tossed over a scroll to Naruto who caught it and stuffed it into his pocket.

"Where to?" Naruto asked.

"South, about ten miles. Town of Tsurui. Saratobi is a tax collector so shouldn't be too hard to find."

The two shinobi bowed and said their thanks and left Kakashi to his work. Naruto, with Hinata left the tower and headed towards the south gate. It was not far and they were expecting a mission so both had already packed and were ready for the journey. They walked down the waking streets of Konoha as shops began to open and people were already filling the streets with the presence and chatter. The shops here contained everything a person could buy, even some larger buildings acted as a small indoors market in themselves. Holding smaller stores for potential customers. The pair would have walked on by if they hadn't spotted Shikamaru standing by a jewellery store looking like he was struggling with picking something.

"Oh hey Shikamaru." Hinata called out and Naruto drew his attention to the most intelligent friend he knew. While Shikamaru gave a half-arsed wave in acknowledgement. He kept the same pose even as the blond haired and white eyed ninja approached him.

"I can't decide which one Temari would like, hmph this is really troublesome." Shikamaru continued to stare down the sets of earrings on display. "Her birthday is coming soon."

To this Hinata lit up, she smiled and jumped over to Shikamaru's side while Naruto stood back and idly look at the other jewellery present at the stall. Hinata kept picking up a pair, closed her eyes and returned them. She kept doing this until she was satisfied with a set of gold earrings with polished jade set in the gold as small teardrops.

"There, she would love these." Hinata smiled and handed the pair of earring to Shikamaru.

"Are you sure?" Shikamaru questioned.

"Yes, the colours are similar to her but subtly different so they can be seen but not stand out completely."

"You're a life saver, I would have been at this for hours."

"Should try painting or something to do with the arts, I think you'd be really good. Especially when you're supposed to be working."

"Hmph too troublesome." Shikamaru sighed while Hinata giggled at his response and just before she turned to join Naruto on their mission. Shikamaru did a jutsu that neither were expecting him to do.

"Shadow Style: shadow scroll." A black banner made of shadows erupted into existence and just as quickly left in a puff of smoke to reveal a small bag full of money. He paid the shop owner and he weaved the same hand signs and in a flash of Shikamaru's black chakra the earrings were safely stored in the pocket dimension.

"Woah cool jutsu, I have never seen you use that before." Naruto commented, he flashed a grin at Shikamaru who smiled back in pride.

"I learned it off Monica actually. She left behind some notes and this was the jutsu that was on them." He looked smug as he looked at both of his hands. "My, my it is a useful jutsu. I only need to remember the pattern and I'll never lose anything again. Talk about perfect for me."

"And you don't need scrolls to store it?" Hinata said who observed he neither took out nor returned anything to his person.

"Nope, though not sure how it works. I only know how to use it. It's a drag but I am still happy with it." He admitted.

"That does sound useful, hey Shikamaru mind teaching me it, after my mission of course."

"Ever hungry for jutsu aren't you Naruto? Tsh sure, I've been using it for a while now and I don't see a reason not to."

"Great, Thanks! I'll owe ya' one." Naruto gave the thumbs up before gently nudging Hinata to follow suit. She gave a small bow goodbye and left with Naruto. He was right, they have a mission to get to. They walked on without too many distractions and just made light small talk about what that storage jutsu could store, if it was infinite or had some limits. They had left the south gates and were wondering past the new communities being built outside the walls. Surrounded by high walls to protect those who lived there but nowhere near as impressive as the villages main walls.

"Hey Naruto, if this guy is going public with shouldn't we hurry and get there? He is in danger."

"Good point, alright, try to keep up!" He grinned at her as he concentrated his chakra into his legs and in a flash, he was gone. Hinata was ready for this and like a shot she was speeding ahead. Being faster than Naruto, unless he used sage, biju, or his new Hiraishin. Hinata caught up and used the branches to step, jump, and swing to maintain momentum through the forest. At this speed, ten miles was covered in under an hour and neither ninja were tired at all.

The town that lay below them was a large civilian town called Tsurui. It was large enough to house their own ninja force but compared to even the smallest shinobi village their numbers were pitiful and could be easily counted on fingers. If the rumours were to be believed then the towns ninja originated from an old rogue shinobi long dead but had taught a small team of genin who in turn grew up to teach their own teams and so forth. However, this was probably made up to keep the actual shinobi leaders from tapping their feet at them. Nevertheless, the town operated by itself. There was a large river flowing through the middle of the town, splitting it up but yet still surrounded by walls and defences. The old town still had many traditional looking houses made of wood and stone while some areas were being built to accommodate the newer designs as the world still progressed despite the wars. Hinata even observed several small ships with one or two masts sailing away from the towns river docks to carry out their trade.

Hinata was wondering how they were going to find their charge but as they walked through the main gates, a pair of impressive oak doors which spanned the main road and about two stories high. A team of shinobi were waiting. They looked similar to leaf shinoibi in the way the jonin of the team had a green flak jacket with black ninja attire underneath and a pouch strapped to his leg. However the four who stood there all had the fire hanji instead of the leaf symbol on their headbands. The jonin was a woman who was clearly favoured by the merchant class as Naruto spied gold earrings, rings, bracelets and even the Naginata she was wielding had gold leaf on the base of the blade and an ornate stylised fire calved into the rest of the blade, showing it was probably an expensive weapon to hold. The three genin stood in front of her, two girls and one boy aged around fourteen had standard causal clothes on with pouches strapped to their legs and Naruto guessed they only had training in kunai and shurikens.

"Are you going to take us to Saratobi?" Naruto called once they were within hearing range.

"Yes, he should be expecting us." Hinata calmly spoke, she was much better with words but sometimes Naruto bluntness was what diplomacy needed.

"Ah great you've arrived, we were also expecting you. I'm Emiko Yamanoki." The jonin bowed. "This is my daughter, Chiho. My student, Ikumi. And my other student, Ashkan." The three genin bowed in turn. "They will be shadowing you to see how ninja from the leaf operate err miss…"

"Hinata Hyuuga"

"Naruto, Naruto Uzimaki"

There was a moments silence as the four 'fire' shinobi stood in silent awe until one genin, Ashkan, spoke out.

"Woah, _the_ Naruto? The famous one? The hero of the war?" Shining sparkles were in all three of their eyes.

Naruto grinned and scratched the back of his blond hair. "Yeah that's me."

"Are you going to show us some cool jutsu?"

"Mn with a bit of luck nothing exciting will happen." Hinata interrupted, earning her a frown. Naruto chuckled and waved his hands placidly.

"She's right I'd rather nothing would happen, but once the mission is over I'll be happy to show you."

However, Emiko shook her head. "I have a bad feeling about tonight." Naruto and Hinata stiffened up as both knew full well how 'good' Naruto's luck was with these kind of things.

"What makes you say that?" The raven-haired woman asked.

"Have you not heard the rumours? Being here with merchants means you get the freshest news. The demon has been making moves."

"First bit of news we have got on the pair." Naruto said gloomly. He sighed. "Take us to Saratobi, we know we can beat him but not without collateral if it comes to that. I'd rather not have the genin mixed up." He gave a slightly jaded smile.

"Unfortunately, this is their mission. They'll do as you order them too though, you have my permission."

Naruto couldn't help but draw so many parallels on his first 'C' rank mission to the land of waves. But he comforted himself knowing they came out on top in the end. So, with a bit of luck the same will happen to these genin. They were lead through the town and heading towards the merchants' quarters. Naruto was entertaining the genin with some of his adventures while Hinata walked with Emiko and talked about all the requests that Saratobi had asked them to do. They were heading to the less busy part of the town, probably the hotels and houses where the merchants stayed. After turning into a courtyard surrounded by a two-story building of traditional Japanese architecture. It had the same cool feel that the Hyuuga gave off as the sun wasn't able to reach the interior of the courtyard. Waiting for them in front of large double doors on the balcony for the second floor was a large built man with an impressive black beard and wearing white robes, cape but a leather jacket with many trimmings and buttons. Giving the impression of not just wealth but power.

"Ah great you are early, plenty of time to set up, you sure this is enough security?"

"Don't worry, Shadow clone jutsu!" Naruto grinned as he quickly summoned ten additional Naruto's. "We have plenty of eyes."

"Great, so who is going to accept the page?"

"That will be me, would you like me to do something specific?" Hinata called from the courtyard.

"Mhn yes come up here dear lady, all you have to do is sign the ownership and make it obvious you have the product, ah yes, we need to set up the cameras."

"People watch this?" Naruto questioned from under his breath. So the merchant couldn't hear. "Are we expecting anyone else?" Naruto called up at saratobi.

"Hm only members of the merchant's guild, they will have identification though." He looked around and thought for a moment. "So I can leave security to you?" Satisfied with the nods he turned into his room to prepare for the televised trade. With a wave of his hand the Naruto clones dispersed and took up several spots on the roof and a few inside in some of the empty rooms. Hinata walked with Emiko to help with setting up. They felt that having Emiko in the presentation would help her popularity and continued support. Naruto still didn't quite understand why he was doing this at all but he kept himself busy by entertaining the genin at the main entrance to the compound. If anyone was to attack they would have to be something special with stealth because as soon as a clone dispelled then Naruto would instantly know exactly where the offender was attacking from. He was becoming as good of a storyteller as Jiraiya, his late sensei, only leaving out the perversion and exaggerating a few moments of action for the young genin. The three were listening intensely and getting all sorts of inspiration to become the next best ninja in the world. While Naruto was story-telling, Hinata and Emiko were getting ready with a little bit of make up and going through the details of the purchase, how it needed witnesses, signatures and so on. What quickly became apparent to Hinata was his motivation. He stressed how thrilled he was that a Hyuuga was buying something off him a little too much so Hinata worked out his game was for renown rather than fear of being attacked. A move which would pay out well if it hadn't put him directly into the firing line. Many of their previous pickups just wanted to be rid of the pages or at least with a small sum of cash of which the leaf village could easily afford. Their value had dropped once Fukushi was known to be hunting them down and there were a surprisingly large number of them once you know where to look for. The main danger was soon their value would rocket as there will be fewer of them and the cost of having a dangerous relic would attract the less sane people to the pages. Or so was described to Hinata who was politely listening to Saratobi explaining the world of money.

Meanwhile as the hour ticked by and hiding in the cover of a small sheltered woodland with shrubs an leaf foliage to hide a single figure. He sat cross legged and with his right eye closed and left covered by a ribbon of white cloth he was concentrating his chakra and holding a jutsu. Surrounding him was eight kunai floating and as time passed they started to quiver with electrical energy and glow as wind chakra sharpened the blade. He was in enough shelter for his attack to go unnoticed. Fukushi knew an opportunity when he saw it and took it as his next target to obtain the page that Saratobi held. However, taking a more level-headed approach he knew that this was just as easily a trap with the page as bait. Something he couldn't ignore; until now he was yet to encounter anyone using it as a trap. Well, truth be told, once it had been set up as a trap but this was back in the land of Earth and before he was known to the world. Some bandits caught wind that these pages were desirable and so stole one off a noble. Their fate ended in a single night upon Fukushi's blade. He opened his right eye and released the jutsu. Eight kunai shot out with loud cracks, like at the start of a race when the gun is fired and the runners shoot out with all their might.

Naruto only realised he was attacked, not by when his clones were hit and impaled by the deadly weaponised chakra but one of the kunai hit with such an angle it had impaled a clone. Shot through the window, then an oak door, across the courtyard through the other oak door and lastly striking a second clone who was stationed on the other side of the compound. Naruto immediately put on his game face and shouted his orders.

"Three of you get to Saratobi, stay close to him a guard him with your lives." He flicked a tri-pronged kunai to the roof and before he teleported he gave them a look of 'do it now, no questions.' Fukushi had hoped to get to the wall surrounding the compound. But a volley of Naruto's kunai were thrown at in his path. With his katana, he slashed two kunai out of the air and threw a summoned kunai back at a Naruto clone who decided to engage him. Both promptly ducked behind cover before either were hit. Naruto saw the tree which Fukushi had took to covering behind. Fukushi was not teleporting as he was expecting but instead spinning from cover and letting loose more kunai before diving back behind a tree, now impaled by many of Naruto-clones' kunai. Naruto had to jump down as three kunai were aimed right at him. He dived just as the kunai reached him.

"Shadow clone jutsu!" and twenty clones were summoned and scattered into cover. Two were kept behind and began to meditate and draw up nature chakra. The roof where Naruto was standing a second ago was struck by lightning strikes. As if the kunai acted like markers to target the strikes. The roof tiles were dislodged and fell with Naruto who landed on the ground two stories down. The avalanche of tiles fell to his left and kicked up dust and dirt where they crumbled.

Fukushi, who now recognised his target, just as two dozen clones leaped over the boundary wall throwing kunai to cover their assault, gritted his teeth. He threw two kunai and with his left hand he sailed through more unusual hand signs. With a grunt he released the jutsu and several lightning bolts struck the ground in front of him in a wave.

"Genus Fulminis: Fulur Unda" He muttered satisfied that he had caught a few clones in his attack. But it was not over as through the smoke came yet more clones each with a resengan in their hands. They charged forward without any care for their safety. Fukushi knew better than to be cocky against Naruto so he kept his moves straightforward. He stepped to the left of the first clone and with a downward swipe of the katana he cleaved off the arm. Keeping momentum, he spun and sliced a second clone in half at the torso. Gripping the blade, he thrusted deep into the chest cavity of the third clone. Three down. Fukushi had to jump back as a clone slammed a resengan into the floor. He then had to teleport away as jumping back left him open to another clones' attack. In a flash of lightning he was behind a clone and slashed him in the back. Flicking two kunai at the necks of two clones who were too close to dodge. A clone punched him in the gut, the force knocked Fukushi away but not before he could flick a kunai at his attacker. He landed on his lands and flipped himself the right way. Slashed and disarmed a clone who held a kunai in his left hand. Fukushi had forced his arm wide and finished him off with a summoned kunai brought down on Naruto's neck.

While Naruto's clones were getting slaughtered one-by-one the original Naruto was busy collecting nature chakra himself before entering the fight. Joining him was Emiko who was waiting for Naruto's mark to attack. She was watching and learning how Fukushi fought. He was fast and relied on teleporting to get behind his targets and killing them off with brutal efficiency. He rarely aimed at anything other than vital points of the body. Save if it would incapacitate or mitigate an attack. For example, the limbs. If the clones hadn't puffed into smoke upon being his she was sure the place would be covered in dismembered limbs. In the smoke produced by the clones she could see the last clone blocking a few thrown kunai before his opponent leaped over the clone and as he did so he released four kunai which were floating around him into the spin of the clone. Dispelling before dropping to the floor with the kunai also dispelling before they touched the floor. If it wasn't for the collateral damage no one would have guessed that a battle had taken place here.

Fukushi took a deep breath and readied his katana. Judging by the lack of blood he knew the real one was still watching from afar. He glared through the smoke and he saw an incoming projectile. He took a step to the right but as he watched the kunai he recognised the fuuinjutsu engraved onto the hilt. His eye widened at first in shock but then in determination. With all his might, he gripped his katana and swung from left to right and brought it down on Naruto who teleported in front of him. Naruto's kunai met the katana in a loud clang of metal against metal. The world stood still. Smoke was blown away revealing the two ninja, face to face. Glaring into each other's eyes. Naruto had orange patterning around his eyes and even his irises had turned orange with the pupil becoming a black slit. While Fukushi had one eye with a dark purple and full of determination. Both men were channelling wind chakra into their weapons creating a blue glow upon the point of contact. At first Fukushi's momentum seemed to push Naruto's arm away but the blonds' raw strength caught up and he threw Fukushi off and with his heightened reflexes he spun and kicked the one-eyed shinobi back. Naruto himself jumped back with the kunai ready.

"So, you've learned my teleportation jutsu? Tell me, how is the dizziness?" Fukushi teased.

"This was my father's jutsu, like hell I'd learn anything from you!" Naruto rebuttled.

"I don't intend to teach. Look just give me the damn page."

"So fucking arrogant aren't you? Thinking you can just take what you want? The world doesn't work that that you idiot."

"They were taken from me. Do you expect me to just give up and let someone else have them? They were given to me, I am to protect them and I am going to get them all back."

"And you think they are worth more than people? You're just greedy, you don't deserve life. Thinking only about yourself." Naruto called out as he could feel Kurama's chakra reacting to his anger. Just seeing someone acting so righteous when in reality he was nothing more than a common murderer and a thief. Worst kind of scum possible in this world. Fukushi looked more like Sai, he had a face of neutrality but his actions spoke louder than words as he teleported to Naruto's side and just as he slashed at him he spoke.

"That's not true, I think of someone else."


	20. Chapter XIX

**please continue to support my story. And i keep on loosing my edits, they take ages and things keep on happening. Not to mention i always feel like i forgot the little details that i managed to get in on the first round of edits. Ah well maybe i'll come back to it.**

Hinata was holding her hands together and giving a small internal prayer that Naruto would be alright as she could hear the cracks of lightning from outside. The genin were a little shaken and nervous because their jonin sensei had left them alone. Not that the genin didn't trust Hinata but they weren't used to her either. She gave them a small smile of reassurance while Saratobi was cowering behind the genin and finally understood how dangerous of a situation he had put himself in. It served him right in Hinata's opinion. She scowled at the man who was willing to hide behind children a third of his age.

"Oh, hello Hinata, long time, how is the village?." Hinata heard a female voice from behind her and turned to see a cloaked woman with her hands concealed in the fabric. She had finally dropped the headband altogether and instead kept her orange hair lazily in place and out of her face with some pins.

"It's Mrs Hyuuga to you, traitor." The Hyuuga lunged forward but before Hinata could strike she was forced to bend below Monica's blade, which was slashed out in reverse grip from behind the cloak. Hinatas moment of hesitation allowed for Monica to summon a kunai and throw it. Hinata foot kicked her hand though and sent the kunai off target. The projectile lazily spun in the air before thudding and biting into the floor boards. Causing someone to scream with a high-pitched voice. Not from the genin either. They immediately backed off and pushed Saratobi out of the way as what appeared to be a river of fire flooded the floorspace around the kunai and began to burn a bright blue flame. Monica knew better than to engage a Hyuuga in close combat. She slashed back from left to right to give her enough space to jump away.

"Aww come on Hinata just give me the page and I won't have to kill anyone." She said with a creepily friendly voice like they were childhood friends and not fighting to the death. Monica had jumped back and held her sword behind her back as if she could hide her intent to kill and drop Hinatas guard.

"You're insane, more-so if you think you can defeat me." Hinata struck out twice but Monica was keeping her distance, skipping back as the space allowed it.

"Just give me the page, slut." Monicas voice sounded cold all of a sudden, her eyes darkened and her smile was wiped away. She tried to strike the Hyuuga heiress without getting into full contact. But all Hinata had to do was dodge the blade, an easy job especially with her byakugan active and allowed her to see all potential threats.

"Slut? From you? I am saving myself for one man while you abandoned your village for dick." Hinata blushed from her crudeness, she quickly took a deep breath to regain composure. but her taunt did its job and Monica got worked up over that comment.

"What do you know bitch, you were Naruto's last choice!" Monica lunged at Hinata with her Wakizashi. But Hinata was expecting to goad her into a sloppy attack. So she stood back.

"Lion Head Punch!" A lionhead of dark blue chakra covered her right fist as she punched Monica square in the stomach. She had used so much force that Monica was blasted through the main oak doors and out into the courtyard below. Hinata walked calmly and regained total composure. She wanted to finish with a witty come back like 'Fukushi is just using you, you're the one not loved by anyone.' Hinata never got the chance as he walked to the broken balcony rail and saw Monica charging up several fireballs around her head in a crescent formation with her chakra.

"Let's see how you can handle this, bitch! Fire Style, Fireball storm!" Four fireballs where shot at Hinata who instinctively dived to the right and out of harms' way. She did a summersault which would have landed with grace had the fireballs not suddenly exploded upon hitting the building. Setting fire to everything they touched in more blue fire Hinata was blown further across the balcony and showered by splinters of wood. The Hyuuga had no time to see if the genin or her charge were unharmed. Another fireball was fired at her. Hinata got up and ran with all her speed across the building complex. The balcony crumbled behind her with every strike. 'How did she become so… explosive?' Hinata thought. As she was fast approaching the end of the balcony where she could jump to safety. Or so that was the plan as a fireball struck the corner of the complex and brought half the building and balcony down with one blow. Fire now blocking both ways; Hinata was forced to look at Monica who didn't hesitate to unleash more fireballs at Hinata.

Hinata took a deep breath. Her projectiles were chakra and chakra was her specialty. To her time seemed to slow down as she reached out to the fireballs and using her own chakra she managed to grab the fire and with a quick spin she turned the attack back onto the caster. Two fireballs were way off target as Hinata feared them going off in her face to risk aiming right but two balls were sent straight at Monica. She showed a face of panic as she was forced to break jutsu and jump out of the way. Not fast enough as she was caught in the shockwave and blown across the courtyard. Hinata couldn't stay where she was. A loud groan followed by a snap could be heard as Hinata jumped off the last bit of balcony on the left wing gave in and collapsed. The entire left wing was now on fire. Monica's blue fire was becoming mixed with orange fire as the timber caught ablaze. The two colours fought to smother each other out and battled for dominance. Thirty seconds later and part of the roof near the corner that Monica had struck collapsed.

The white-eyed shinobi stood up to face the rogue shinobi who managed to pick herself up. She was singed by that attack and her eyebrow and lip was cut, sending a drop of crimson blood down her face. Hinata took a step forward. Bad mistake, she winced as she realised that she must have been hit by the splintering wood. A deep gash on her left thigh. She was able to stand but now Hinata was suffering for it. Both women glared at each other. Wakizashi in one hand and the gentile fist in the other.

"What are you going to do when he abandons you?" Hinata resorted to teasing, it was an easy way of forcing Monica to make the first move. Taunting was not her usual strategy but when she found out it worked well against her, the Hyuuga couldn't pass the obvious strategy.

"What?"

"What are you going to do once he gets what he wants and doesn't need you?" Hinata continued to poke at her insecurities, any other time she would feel bad but she had brought this on herself and deserves what she was getting. "He will just leave you, alone, no home and a bounty on your head, and hunted for the rest of your life!"

"He'd never leave me, I've earned his respect!" Monica smiled at her own thought. "But he has to get that page, that is his mission. And I swore to see him through it." Monica charged Hinata who immediately pushed her back with her gentile fists. Neither could afford a hit as Hinata was unarmed while Monica had a vulnerable chakra network. Hinata dodged and leaned back from Monica's blade. She was getting good at switching from offensive to defensive with a mere flick of her blade and a change of stance. Monica saw her opportunity and took it. Hinata had lost her footing because her leg unexpectedly gave out from under her. She screamed out in pain which grew silent gurgle as Monica spun her Wakizashi around and plunged it through the Hyuugas' left shoulder and though her heart. Red blood spilled down her body with no signs of stopping.

Or so Monica thought. She was suddenly struck in the stomach, snapping back to reality she realised she had stabbed nothing but an illusion of Hinata. Right arm struck, by the bicep. Left shoulder, Right flank, Stomach, Stomach, her throat and lastly a kick to the chin causing her to summersault in the air and land painfully in the dirt before the Hyuuga. She spat blood and tried to speak, each word was painful as Hinata had not only cut off the chakra there but also had ruptured her vocal cords.

"He… Loves…" She got up to face her opponent. "He… Won't… Ever" Chocking after each word, tears falling from her eyes as her mind was torn between fight or flight.

Hinata took a deep breath and regained her composure, ready to finish off Monica here and now. Few people could survive the gentile fist. By the looks of Monica, she couldn't. Her chakra to her legs were weakened, she could hardly talk and her weapon arm was numb and basically useless. That left her a left arm or the unlikely possibility of reinforcements.

"At least I never had to prove anything to Naruto. He accepted me for who I am and nothing more. While you have given everything to no one special, a murderer. That's all Fukushi is. You'll both be dragged back to _my_ village and tried for _your_ crimes." Hinata blushed despite herself. But her eyes shone with determination. Yes, Naruto showed that never giving up and hard work meant that anyone could earn the fruits of their labour, but Hinata never had to trade one for the other. She never lost out, or lost more than she received.

Monica wanted to scream out and rip Hinata limb from limb. From her point of view, Hinata was given everything, a guarantee, no luck, no hard work. While she was saved by a who risked death, just for her and her alone. She felt betrayed by her village for leaving her alone while everyone else got training and attention they needed, she needed. Of course, she would do anything for Fukushi. He saw value in her, potential, and strength. He was her last hope, an opportunity she could not afford to let slip by with complacency or laziness. The orange haired shinobi summoned two kunai and threw them one after another. She still had chakra, enough to fight, and she had the range advantage.

Both kunai were immediately poked out of the air playfully by Emiko's Naginata. She had leaped in to help Hinata.

"Damn, leave some for me. Sorry I am late, Naruto is dealing with Fukushi and looks like he is winning, I was just getting my genin to safety." Emiko stood next to Hinata with her spear ready to deflect any projectiles.

"Naruto is ok?"

"Yeah, wiping the floor in fact. Hinata, don't get on his bad side, I am sure he's a great guy but damn he's strong."

Hinata smiled at the complement. "Do you want to finish her off? She has a bounty on her head."

"That will do nicely." Emiko readied her weapon as the fire-user. She was taking the defensive with a set of kunai in her left hand. The heat of the burning building was getting intense and the three women could feel their skin getting too hot to even bare. The fierce flames had engulfed half the compound now and over the roar of the fire time could be heard snapping as bits collapsed here or there. Both sides flinched and were ready to kill but Fukushi's body was thrown though the right wing of the complex. Smashed through both walls and flung across the courtyard. He only stopped once he had crashed through the wall of the left wing and caused half the building to collapse. Hinata and Emiko jumped back to avoid being crushed. Now that the building was wide open they could see Fukushi standing up inside the building. Glaring with his remaining eye and expecting some attack. Naruto calmly walked through the hole he had made using the rogue ninjas' body. He used an arm of Kurama's chakra to casually brush away the debris from in front of him. He had the look of pure anger and disgust on his face. He threw his special kunai across the courtyard and into the burning building. Monica couldn't say anything. She tried but choked on her words as more blood was spat out.

Fukushi brought his weapon above his head and with the strength he had left he forced it down on Naruto as he teleported in front of him. With his left arm, he grabbed Fukushi by the hand and stopped his attack cold. With his right, he grabbed the younger ninja by the throat and picked him up and brought him directly face-to-face. A tail of chakra radiated out from Naruto's golden Biju cloak. On the tip was a blue orb of spinning chakra, the deadly resengan. Fukushi looked coldly into his eyes.

"Give me one reason to let you live?" His voice mixed with Kurama's anger and rage. "Just one reason that makes you sound like a fucking decent human being!"

Fukushi tried to let out a smile. Proving difficult with a hand squeezing all life from his body. "Her." With a bright light, and a loud crack he was beside Monica and helping her to get up. Naruto was used to the bright flashes and so wasn't blinded by the close proximity of the teleport.

"Monica, we have to go, we are outclassed here." He let her lean on him. "We know they have the page at least." Fukushi sighed at the failed mission. Monica tried to speak but was hushed soothingly by Fukushi. He could see a lot of blood was pouring from her mouth and she would need to heal before she could speak again. Fukushi wasn't so badly injured. He had managed to outlast Naruto's sage mode, only to be utterly outclassed by his biju mode. Which was able to see through all his ninjutsu, too fast to dodge or hit, and strong enough to attack with powerful strikes. He saw Naruto pouring chakra into another ransen-shuriken. Going wide-eyed, He propped Monica against his chest and started signing for a jutsu. First five kunai summoned above his head and shot out in a ring around him. Next the fuuinjutsu pentagram drew itself from the kunai and Fukushi was finished just as Naruto threw the resengan. A bright flash of yellow lightning and the pair vanished before Naruto's attack could hit home. The rasen-shuriken continued into the remaining part of the building and with a deafening bang the building was torn asunder. Sending debris all over the town, causing much more chaos than initially intended.

"Fucking Coward! Always running at first sign of trouble." Naruto shouted into the air once the dust settled. The compound was levelled to the ground. The sets of buildings nearby were looking worse for wear as the collateral spread around the area. In the distance screams, crying and men shouting could be heard. Naruto was breathing deeply and retracted his biju mode turning him back to more human colours without the visible chakra to cover him. He had a few cuts from Fukushi's sword but nothing deep or permanently damage.

With a deep laugh, Kurama spoke up. "Ah that was so… Exulerating! I should have shared my senses sooner. That fight felt so good! Hate him all you want but he knew how to keep you on your toes."

"Shut up Kurama." Naruto spoke out loud he had too much adrenaline to be mindful of the people around him. However, him snapping did nothing to shut Kurama up.

"Oh and the pain, I always thought it was fun to see others hurt but… I love this heat it gives off, If I knew being in a Jinchuriki could feel so, real." He ended on more of a purr than a growl. To this Naruto could only sigh.

"First big fight since the seal broke huh?" Hinata spoke behind Naruto causing him to jump. He had forgotten that the world had other people inhabiting it for a moment.

"Hinata, you're alright?" He turned to look at the beautiful shinobi. He froze momentarily. "Are you alright?" He spoke with more concern as he spotted that her clothes were blood soaked from her hip down.

The white-eyed heiress smiled and approached the Jinchuriki. "It's nothing just a scratch from Monica's attacks. What about yourself?" He stood in front of him and rubbed a scar the Fukushi had made on Naruto's cheek. He was able to use wind chakra to extend the range of his blade so while Naruto was able to dodge the metal, the chakra was still able to cut him all over. Hinata rubbed his blood off with her thumb to reveal the cut had healed without scabbing. Thanks to Kurama, Naruto had the ability to heal very quickly but the damage still left slight discolouration as it was new skin on against old skin. Hinata, who had been up close to the man, could see the many marks that adorned his skin since childhood. Despite knowing his healing prowess, she still worried that he was in pain and so she leaned in and kissed the healed scratch.

"I hope you feel better now." She whispered in his ear.

"I already do." He smiled and looked into her eyes before a cough grabbed their attention. They turn to see Emiko who was standing there looking displeased.

"You two should come, Saratobi is accusing you of collateral damage." The leaf shinobi looked unimpressed, their eyebrows furrowed and they followed Emiko away from the fire which had a couple more shinobi that they hadn't seen before using water jutsu to tame the flames. Everyone was acting quickly to deal with the damage but to Naruto it seemed like an hour passed before they walked to Saratobi was sitting by a fountain in a plaza not too far away from the battle-scene. He looked like he was still out of breath, breathing heavily and trying to fuel his anger, enough to face the shinobi who were paid to protect him. Aside from him looking like he just ran to Konoha and back, he was otherwise unharmed.

"You two!" He snapped once he noticed the leaf ninja approach. "You better pay for the damage you caused with your reckless fighting. Do you have any idea the damage you caused under my name."

At this, Naruto lost it. Having pent up frustration from the battle ending in stalemate and not leading them anywhere. His eye flashed red as he wanted to get his point across with no room to mistake it for anything else. "No! do _you_ have any idea how stupid _you_ were for attracting those two. Didn't you read the news, I thought Merchants were supposed to do that! They _kill_ those who have the page. Get that in your fucking skull. If it wasn't for us you would be _dead_!" He punched the man in the jaw and despite being bigger than Naruto he was knocked to the floor while holding his jaw in agony.

"I thought ninja were supposed to be discrete, how the hell is this discrete?" He motioned at the fact all the windows where put out here and some debris had scattered itself over the cobbled plaza.

"You should know that wasn't really an option." Hinata said, as a Hyuuga she was much calmer but you could hear the frustration in her voice. "Most of the damage was done by the attackers."

"How dare you blame us for the damage, we saved your ungrateful life!" Naruto backed up.

"I'm going to take a complaint to your Hokage, I'll make sure that your ninja careers are over!"

"Oh, I wouldn't do that." A new person entered the fray. An elderly man with short gray hair, wrinkles on his face but a thin body, almost lanky. He wore a blue velvet jacket over white shirt and black trousers, both with cuffs and gold cufflinks. He wore boots made of black leather and again gold buckles. Accompanying him were two ninjas. One male and one female, both looked similar to each other and had purple-red hair. The man wore glasses but aside of that they had standard ninja gear.

"My lord." Saratobi stuttered and realised he was in for it now. As if the day couldn't get any worse. He got on his knee, unless his actions caused further offense.

"From where I am standing, you have wilfully attracted two assassins into my city. Not only did you underpay my ninja for a 'D rank' mission but you underpaid the leaf village as a 'C rank' mission. It is common knowledge that we are facing some very illusive and wanted criminals. You hadn't taken the necessary security risks. Performed private transactions on public not private land. Endangered lives of some of the most prestigious guild members. Do I need to carry on?"

"No, my lord."

"You are hereby fined and demanded to pay the sum of money of two A-rank missions to both teams in full. Also, you will have to pay for all damages caught by your egotistical stupidity." The lord was firm on his judgement and his voice betrayed no signs of weakness in his authority.

"But… that would ruin me, I can't afford that."

"It's money or imprisonment and we will acquire your assets anyway. You should have thought of the consequences before you invited a pair of killers into my city. Or were you too blinded by your greed from overcharging the Hyuugas?" He waved a hand towards Hinata. "Those pages are only worth blood now, people are starting to ban the trade of them in certain towns." He looked at the man who was cringing in pain before him. Each word was hitting him hard as he worked out the cost that he would have to pay. "How surrender the page to them and come with me." He sighed and looked around. He thought how much of a pain the clean-up will be but at least he had finance for it now.

Saratobi stood and handed the rolled-up page to the lord of the town who gave him and small smile. More of a twitch than anything else. He took the scroll and immediately tossed it at Naruto as if he would be cursed if he held onto it longer than he ought.

"We will reimburse you for your efforts, at least no one was killed. Now if you excuse me we will need to arrange for Saratobi to surrender his funds, come." Ikumi and Ashkan took this as a signal to help the man up to his feet. Saratobi was still rubbing his jaw from Naruto's punch, he was sure a tooth or two were wobbling now. He kept silent as he knew now the weight of his actions. Naruto only had to take one glance at his face to be satisfied that his message had gotten through his thick greedy skull. The two bowed at Emiko and set off to return to the village. A short mission but no less important, they had some new information about their rogue shinobi problem. The pair hardly left the battlefield when a pale ninja jumped infront of them.

"Hello dickless." It was Sai, his unnatural smile gave away that he was the real deal, his face relaxed into resting blankness. "Have you seen two Shinobi, one with orange hair and the other with one eye?" Naruto was about to comment on his attempted humour, stressing the attempted, as he was clearly looking at the levelled buildings, one of which was smouldering away as the fire died down already. Granted with the help of a single water-user splashing water over the ruins. Instead Naruto swallowed his annoyance and opted to answer the man.

"Yeah but you just missed them, teleported out once the battle was looking one sided."

"It is a very useful jutsu but it's making my job difficult. Though I thought they were trying to get these pages, even at the cost of their lives."

Kurama spoke, although only Naruto could hear him at this time. "I think he said something like 'We know they have it.' If it helps at all."

"Thanks, Kurama." Naruto spoke within himself. "Kurama said that they left knowing that we have the page."

"Change of tactics, why. Oh well. I'll see you around!" Sai jumped up and was grabbed by an ink eagle, before he was out of site he had climbed to the top of the bird and flew over the tree canopy that the Land of Fire was well known for.

"What was that all about?" Naruto asked.

"I think Sai is having trouble finding them." Hinata replied as the two left the town, although the citizens would be half right, Naruto did not want to take the blame for raining wood over the town.

"How's your leg?"

"It stings, but I'll heal once I see Sakura. What about you? I know you heal quickly but you've been slashed all over."

"Urg Kurama enjoyed that battle much more than I did. He was keeping his distance from me and outlasted my sage mode. He seemed to be concentrating more, I couldn't land any decent hits until I entered biju mode."

"I think they have been training."

"Bit rich, seeing as they are on the run."

"True, but Naruto, She was definitely hitting me with new jutsu."

"Tsh, thinking the world is theirs. Can't wait to punch his smug face out."


	21. Chapter XX

**The next chapter in my story, I still feel i am about a third of the way through the story but the more I think about it the more i want to add and change. Originally i thought 80k words and jobs a guddun'. But now i am wondering if i could hit the 200k mark.**

 **Shoutout to NarHina and Min-Chan17 for those reviews, makes me feel i am doing a decent job. I am doing the best to make something that's my own (plot and writing style not the Naruto Universe, which i don't own) So naturally will feel different to other stories, from my experience anyway.**

 **Please continue to support my writing with reviews, favourites and follows.**

 **Oh another note, i mentioned this earlier "- _Italics_ -" is another language and the majority of the characters can't understand it, apart from Sasuke, who's sharingan is able to read the lips and somehow understand perfectly what was said. (figured it would make sense for the sharingan to have this ability.)**

 **Monica and Fukushi, seconds after their escape from Iwa, twenty-six days ago.**

The town of Harugama, one of the many towns that dotted around the land of Fire. Although considered a town, the settlement only houses a couple thousand. The town sites on the valley side and overlooks a river which reveals itself briefly out of the forest before vanishing back into the dense foliage. Trouble seldom came past the wooden walls which were designed to keep the wilds of the woods out and the people within safe. Under the dynamo's laws the inhabitants were hard workers just inept at any sort of jutsu, any who were would inevitably end up at Konoha as there weren't any suitable facilities to train shinobi. Still the place was picturesque with winding roads and wooden houses, interwoven by small rice paddies and streams of water to supply them. On the flood plane were several fields supporting a greater variety of grains and fruits for the labourers to harvest. As autumn is fast approaching, some fields were already harvested and now lay bare for the next year to plant. Down one road, sheltered by a few trees and placed in front a small ring of houses was a small cobbled plaza with a well dead centre between the houses. Here was peaceful and still. No one was present save for one elderly man. Sitting and smoking a pipe to relax and enjoy the afternoon sun dancing in between the leaves which swayed in the gentle breeze and making the air comfortable to breath despite the heat. The smoke he breathed lazily wisped around his face before.

A loud roar came from nowhere and in a second a swirling mass of fire engulfed the plaza. The emerald blue flames rushed around as if a tornado made of fire suddenly landed right on top of that plaza. A snap. And the flames tore themselves apart and wisped into nothing. The very ground of the plaza had small fires of the same colour as the torrent a moment ago, but this time, more of a gentile flame. Consuming the small plants and debris that littered the plaza a moment ago. The man was thrown off his chair and shielded himself out of fear. The heat alone was enough to scorch his skin as if he got a nasty sun burn on his exposed skin. The silence hardly lasted a second and a woman could be heard restraining a scream and breathing heavily as if she was pushing herself to be brave.

Monica was in more pain than she ever felt before. Desperately trying to reach her back as if touching her wound would make it feel better. Had she been a second faster, the rogue shinobi would have escaped Naruto's attack unharmed but instead the blade of the shuriken-rasengan had cut her deeply. In her right hand, she was gripping her sword. Her knuckles were rubbed raw and were covered in grime and blood. He left hand had given up trying to comfort her back and instead she grabbed the dirt and squeezed. She breathed heavily, dust blowing away from her breath. Blood dripped from her lips too and splattered onto the ground. The world around her snapped in and out of focus as she concentrated on the pain. What felt like an hour but in reality, only minutes passed before she couldn't stand the pain any longer and screamed out her frustration. The scream sounded closer to a battle cry and half the town could hear it, they felt her pain and shrank in fear from it. Monica fell to the floor and sobbed deeply to herself, muttering about the pain but otherwise incomprehensible.

"M… Monica? What the hell happened? How did you get here… Kuu! Go and get a doctor here now!"

"Dear, what was all that… Monica? Right, I'm going!" An elderly woman who appeared from the house and was momentarily stunned by the two nearly unconscious people in front of their house. She recognised one as her Granddaughter, Monica.

"Mrs Uandi, I'll get him, I can run faster." A Man called from next door. He too had come to see what all the commotion was about. He quickly understood that two people were badly injured and one was already unconscious. He quickly jumped down from the raised porch and ran towards the road. "Get them inside and make them comfortable while I am gone."

The elderly couple did not need to be told twice and they approached the injured ninja. Monica slowly and painfully raised her heads. Her vision was blurred now but she could only just make out the shapes of her family. She tried to weakly smile but instead she choked on more blood. Her spasm dislodged her headband and it fell off her forehead again. With all her strength, she reached out to grab the headband. Slowly she grabbed it and turned so she could see the metal. The headband was dented and scratched over the symbol. She tried to remember when in the fight the headband was damaged in such a way. Before the thought was finished she too had passed out and slumped her head to the floor.

Monica was the first to wake. She took a deep breath as if she had been underwater. The girl sat up in her bed, it was much smaller than she remembered but nevertheless she curled up and stared blankly from her knees towards the window letting in the soft moonlight. All she felt was the dull throb of her entire body. The only other thing she could feel is the tight bandages that wrapped around most of her figure. After an hour of sitting and waiting for nothing but time to pass she got up from her bed. Aside from her bandages she was wearing a dressing gown that smelt strongly of her Grandmother. She blushed as she realised that the bed sheets were stained badly with her blood. Particularly where Naruto had struck her back. There was a towel placed under her but did nothing to prevent the blood from soaking through and ultimately ruining her old bed. Monica walked over to a chest of draws where a small doll and a photo of her family sat and waited for her to approach. She winced at the pain in one step and on the second step she nearly collapsed but instead she reached for the cabinet and used that as a support.

The orange haired shinobi sighed as she looked at her family photo, every member of her extended family was there and even she was smiling on the picture. Her ears perked up when she could hear footsteps outside. Calmly she put down the photo and turned to see who was going to enter. Her heart felt light as the thought of Fukushi coming in flashed through her mind. Instead a familiar woman appeared in the doorway and standing behind her was a taller man.

"Monica? Oh good you are up. You remember Doctor Greer dear?" The elderly woman was petite with tied back grey hair, a far cry to the vibrant orange hair that Monica had. She wore a pale green komono and in the moonlight, it appeared a more of a blue colour. Aside of the clothing she also used a walking stick. Expertly calved out by Monicas father as a gift one year. Monica smiled and hesitated for a moment.

"Oh yes, I remember him." She smiled and looked past her family member to see a tall man with a greying beard and longer greying hair, both of which still kept some of the original black colour. He had a stained apron on which would have usually unnerved her but she assumed it was her blood given the state of her. He spoke in a deep and wise voice through many years of training and expertise.

"It's surprising that you actually woke up first. The man you're with is still unconscious."

Monica had the look of shock and upset. "Where is he? Is he ok? When will he be alright?"

Greer raised his hand to quiet her down. She would have continued otherwise.

"The man you were with will be fine, he was just exhausted. although he has sustained a lot of damage though so I am not surprised he is in need of down time. You on the other hand, you have sustained a recent wound to your back. I assumed that's why you managed to get here, however you did it. It'll prove difficult to hearl and will certainly scar you. Although you seem to also have a lot of scars which seemed to have healed. If you like I could send a message off to Konoha to get a medical ninja to help. You'll both heal much faster."

"No!" Monica snapped. "No…" She whispered quietly. "I'd rather just leave our care with you and not, err, disturb the village with my request."

"What about your duties?" Her grandmother asked. Monica looked down in shame and didn't raise her eyes to meet their gaze.

"Things have changed… can we go downstairs… I'll, explain." They had to strain to hear Monicas words but she seldom spoke again and instead limped towards them, past them and down the stairs towards the living room.

"I think I should get going." The doctor said. "Call me if the other boy wakes up, he has many poisons in him and far more injuries which has weakened him to this point. That and I think she cares for him so make sure she is ok with seeing him the way he is." He patted the old lady on the shoulder "They both have quite a history for someone so young." The Doctor turned and walked down the stairs to see himself out of the front door in front. Moments later, Monica's grandmother followed.

Monica was visibly shaking while staring at Fukushi who was laying on a cleared sofa. He too was covered in bandages. Particularly half his face was covered and his left arm was wrapped like a mummy. He was still sweating but otherwise remained almost completely still. Evidence that he was still alive was the short slight movements in his chest as he breathed. Monica clasped her hands together as if she was praying.

"So, what is his name dear?"

"Fukushi." Monica didn't turn to face her family but instead stared at him. 'Please be ok' she mouthed then turned to face her grandmother. "Where's Grandpa, I have something I need to... admit…"

"I'm just in the other room." He called from the kitchen and he entered a moment later. He could tell that this was a delicate subject just by looking at her face. It was on the verge of tears. "You can tell us anything you know. We are family and we will never judge you." He walked up to his granddaughter who couldn't hold back the tears anymore.

"I'm sorry." She fell into his arms. "I'm so so sorry."

"What's wrong dear?"

She was silent for a few minutes and tried to pluck up the courage to say something."I-I'm a r-r-rogue ninja." She sobbed her words out. She was the only one who made a noise because the two elderly people were trying to comprehend what they just heard. Her grandfather eventually spoke, cutting the silence although he spoke with a hushed tone.

"Why."

Monica hesitated before pushing her family away slightly and sat down by the table to one side of the room.

"He saved me, so I decided to repay him by saving his life. But… that meant… going against my own team."

"What do you mean he saved you?" Her grandmother spoke softly and trying to calm her grandchild down. Monica just shuddered at the thought and shook her hear. Her experience being too despicable to even mention. The elderly woman got the message though. "I see."

"If you want my opinion, they are going with shinobi laws. You may be the first ninja in our family. If what you say is true then you're better off repaying your debts than being a soldier in someone else's war."

"S-so you aren't going to turn me in?"

"We would never hurt a family member. You come first to us." Monica gave a weak smile, she couldn't help but feel their disappointment. She felt her grandmothers hand on her left shoulder. As Monica turned to face her, she felt as if the woman looked directly into her eyes as if she could see Monica's soul.

"Do you feel that you did the right thing?" Grey eye locked into grey eyes. Monica's had dulled considerably from the sweet young child she once knew. She could tell that the young woman was torn and tormented over this and they were the first people she could be open to. Silence once more crept in and the wind outside began to pick up, the moon still shining although the light dimmed momentarily from the windows. Over time Monica managed to select her words and picked out the ones that best matched up to her feelings.

"I owe him my life. I should have died back then but he gave me a second chance and the means to become better than I could have ever hoped for. I am hunted as a rogue ninja but at least now my life is on my own terms. I am sorry if it means I die before I make you proud of me, but at least I got to see my family before it all ends."

"You think you're condemned to die?"

She looked down at the floor in front of her feet. "I'm not strong enough, it's me and Fukushi against the great shinobi villages. The odds aren't in my favour."

"But you could…"

"Be realistic?" She looked at both of her grandparents. They both had faces of sorrow and mourning as if she was already in a grave and gone from the mortal world. "Fukushi and I were trying to fix a mistake he made but even he isn't expecting to resolve that before he dies." She cuddles herself. "I'm just a failure. I don't expect you to like what I've become."

"I'm not going to hate you dear for taking your own path. You are brave to put your humanity before duty. Some call it selfish others call it heroic. You only have to stay true to yourself and we will support you. Your family loves you, Monica. Don't forget that we are always here for you, our village has known you since you were born. They are here for you too." Kuu spoke and smiled warmly at her granddaughter. Monica hugged her and whispered her thanks. "Now get some sleep, you need to rest otherwise you won't heal."

"Urm is it ok if I stay by Fukushi?"

Her family smiled and started walking upstairs. Feeling it was best not to argue with her.

"He's really stolen your heart hasn't he dear?" Her grandmother spoke as she left. Monica blushed but nodded in agreement. Once she was alone in the room, now no longer lit, aside from the fleeting light of the moon as clouds began to cover it and the wind thrashed at the trees outside. She inched her way to the unconscious man and kneeled beside him. In the gloom, she gazed upon his face, once the moonlight returned she could see how peaceful he looked. Monica laid her head onto his chest and listened to his heart beat.

"Please wake up." She quietly spoke. A small part of her wished that he could hear it and wake up at this minute but instead he remained still and asleep.

Fukushi couldn't help but feel déjà vu. He thought he was in a dream, but dreams weren't usually this vivid. Almost life like. If it wasn't for the fact he felt like a spectator or a ghost he would have believed this was in fact the real world. He walked down a calved stone pathway down a particularly steep hillside. The houses were all made of calved white stone and the place shone. Intricate carvings and statues adored each building. Colourful curtains and clean dark wood stood out from the white stone while every roof was tiled with bright terracotta. Towers, multiple storied buildings and large bridges or walk ways dotted about. Stretching out from the hills that he was wondering down was a great plain full of hundreds of fields and many hamlets dotted here or there. The only trouble was. He had no idea how he got here, or where here even was. He knew enough of the great five nations that nowhere looked like this. Although his experience was limited to the mountains and deep valleys of in the Land of Earth. He looked far enough right to see a wide sweeping beech that spanned many miles and held a huge city right across the sea front. The area was impressive to say the least.

"- _Fuku!-_ " He heard someone call his name and he snapped his attention to a very young blue haired girl in a pale purple dress which gave her the air of elegance for someone so young. She had bright purple eyes, the same colour as his own and even had a matching tattoo of black markings down her left arm. Although she quickly put her hands behind her back and peered up at Fukushi. "- _Get your head out of the clouds. We need to go home before it gets dark._ -"

Fukushi simply nodded and took her by the hand. He felt happy that he was able to see his father today. Wait, how did he remember that?

"- _Did you see your dad today?_ -"

"- _Yes although he seemed on edge, did not tell me what about though.-"_

" _-He works hard for our family, I am sure he'll work it out and be home before long.-"_

" _-It's been two weeks though.-"_

" _-Not the for first time.-"_ She corrected. Strange, he remembered the journey home took much longer than it did. The Sun was no longer high in the sky but not low enough to redden the sky. Shining brightly over the city by the coastal edge. The pair were still holding hands as they walked into the small hamlet. Across the bridge that linked the living space to the land as they had designed the irrigation to section off the settlement like a small island separated from the fields. The hamlet held three houses although they were large squares with a central courtyard. Each contained four families, one to each side and everyone acted autonomously, even a space for a small market where travelling merchants would enter the hamlet and sell their goods right there. Fukushi frowned as he thought he could name every family here but the words eluded him as he walked past. It did not matter right now. Their family crest watch etched onto the walls of each building and coloured in black with a mix of red and orange patterns radiating from the black sun. Yes, wasn't this his crest? The Solaris family? Does this mean. No. Shit, he had to warn every one of the attack which would happen later that night. He tried with all his might to say something. Instead he just walked happily towards his home.

Fukushi awoke with a start. He nearly threw himself out of the bed. First he took a deep breath but next his head felt like it was being split open. The one-eyed shinobi cradled his head for a minute until the pain was bearable. The next thing he realised was he was covered in several layers of bandages. Arms, head, one of his legs and his torso were all wrapped up tightly. Looking around the room was still a blur but over time he was able to work out that he was indoors, in a bed and a warm figure was lying next to him.

"Aya…" He spoke slowly and hushed, a whisper as if he struggled saying that one word. He flinched as a new wave of pain struck.

"- _So you remembered my name?-"_ At that voice Fukushi snapped to full alert. His eye darted around the room but he found it was empty. The voice sounded like a woman, elegant and polite but certainly not in Japanese. He was split between choosing what was worse; the fact someone spoke and he can't see her or the fact it was in his native tongue.

"- _Wait, 'my name?_ -'" He thought out loud.

"- _How could you forget it so easily?-"_ A wave of guilt flooded his stomach. It felt heavy, like he needed to breathe desperately.

"- _It can't be you, you're dead._ -" Fukushi replied to no particular direction. Now sitting up on the side of the bed. His right hand rubbing his temple and trying to relieve some of the pain. There was a chilling silence. Then, as if the world took a deep breath then with the force of its lungs a scream shook around the house. Fukushi jumped out of the bed and his body drained of all heat. He needed to breath in the outside air. The room was now suffocating him, though his body fought against him moving. He felt that whatever was outside was far worse than suffocating inside. Inch by inch, Fukushi moved towards the door. His arm was shaking and he could feel cold sweat dripping from his back.

Once at the door he carefully opened it. At first, only ajar, but after he took a deep breath he pulled the door wide open. His right eye looking left, then right, and finally up. Nothing, but that scream felt so real. No more than real, supernatural maybe. Fukushi sighed and turned around only to be startled by something he would have never expected.

Before him were two ghostly figures of children. One was recognisable as is younger self, inch long wild brown hair, eyes closed but covered in blood and a large hold penetrated through his heart. The other figure was Aya, he was huddled over him and sobbing uncontrollably.

"- _I can't... you can't die, please, Fuku… get up… I can't do this without you… please.-"_ In her sobs her words became a mix of gibberish, trying to reason with herself or trying to talk until the boy before her woke up. Fukushi knew what would happen, but he didn't want to see it. He backed out of the room. The last thing he saw in the corner of his eye was her holding her left arm above the wound and her right arm holding a sign in front of her face. Her tattoo would normally be jet black but instead glowed a fierce and bright yellow. Tears streamed down her cheeks and blood began to show on her dress. Like a blot of ink on paper, soaking through and spreading across her body. Fukushi was broken now, this was a memory he never wanted to experience again. he threw himself down the stairs, clearing it in three strides and thrusting open the front door to the porch. He gripped the rail with all his strength and tried to slow his heart. Taking deep breaths of the cold night air.

"- _I don't regret it…-"_ Another unearthly chill shuddered down Fukushi's spine.

"- _B… But why?-"_ His voice cracked as he spoke. Trying to reply in a language he hadn't used properly for half of his life.

" _Wasn't it obvious? Given why we were bound together?-"_ Her voice so calm so inviting. Almost as if she had aged normally alongside Fukushi. She spoke without a hint of embarrassment or anger, just pure love.

"But how did you repay her gift to you?" A new voice to His left, He turned to see another figure. An elderly man with a twisted face out of disgust. "Look what you did to my gift to you?" Fukushi recognised the man as Tenushi. The noble who took him in and trained him, although his intentions took a dark turn as abuse and torture took over his teaching. He only smiled when he caused pain and suffering. To which he smiled at Fukushi knowing that his spirit would have the desired effect. "I would have made you rich and powerful, my successor even. All you had to do was give up that book. But no, you killed me for it. You killed everyone for it."

"- _You lost the book, the jewel of_ my _family!-"_

" _-I still have it, it's not lost.-"_ Fukushi turned to the third voice and took a step back. His father, A tall man and clad in full battle attire. A metal cuirass, metal greaves and gauntlets. Left arm soul bound to his partner and in the right, he held a spear; seven feet in length. The ghostly image frowned at his son.

"- _Yet you are chasing it throughout unknown lands, What's more we did not teach you to kill. You were taught to use your abilities to further the family.-"_ Fukushi tried to explain himself but instead he hung his head in shame and bit his lip to try and focus his mind. "- _Who are you? This isn't my Son.-"_ He waved his left arm dismissively, with a voice full of spite and grit. Turning away and fading to nothing.

"- _Why did you fail us?-"_

"Why did you kill us?"

"Was this worth it?" Several voices now sounded from the darkness and several figures appeared before the ninja. Each one had a new criticism and each one grew louder.

"Disgusting, so this is how you chose to deal with all your problems." A dark voice sounded. Fukushi recognised it immediately as it was a voice he had heard not so long ago. A cloaked figure stepped forward. Fukushi froze and expected an attack and yet the cloaked figure seemed off. 'Another figment?' He thought to himself. "You thought you could take on this task by yourself. Be invisible and no one would notice you were even there. You thought you were strong. That makes you the worst kind of human, one that rejects help from others. Arrogant that you thought you were better than others, better than the villages."

"Because this was my problem to begin with!" Fuushi snapped. His voice cut though the void and the world seemed quieter once he finished.

"And where did it take you? How far have you fallen and to be the last of your clan? What honour have you won?" The cloaked man teased before he looked up and his left eye was a crimson red, the colour of blood itself. Glowing brightly in the moonlight. In seconds the world around him redshifted into some unrecognisable field. Like a red desert with the red sky and bodies thrown across the landscape. Pain overwhelmed Fukushi again before he could see anything else, causing him to fall to the floor and clutch his head.

"Utchiha, what… have… you, done… to me?" The one eyed shinobi hissed. Fukushi had put two and two together. Why else would he hallucinate about Sasuke, unless he was the one who caused his mind to unhinge.

"I actually helped you, you had repressed memories and I repaired a part of your psyche."

"Bastard… took me yea- years to control myself." Fukushi flinched once more. The pain was so intense he felt bound to where he was kneeling. Any movement threatened to cause untold pain to shoot through his head.

"Ultimately this path you're walking will only lead to your hatred, what did you think will happen once you have achieved your goal? People would forget? Let you into their lives and allow you to live peacefully? Not as you are now, not with your arrogance and ignorance."

"You don't understand, I have to get those pages back no matter the cost!"

"And have you thought what that cost was? For pieces of aged paper in a language no one here can read."

Fukushi opened his mouth to answer but a blue haired woman walked up behind Sasuke. He was wearing a white dress with red flowers pattered around the rim. Her blue hair tied back into a neat tail which reached half way down her back.

"- _Fuku? Was I worth so little that you pushed me to the furthest corners of your mind and forgot about me?-"_

He looked away, then looked down. His shoulders slumped in defeat.

"- _No.-"_ He whispered, his throat catching but strangely the headache ebbed away once he allowed himself to cry. "- _I missed you, so much.-"_ A few tears fell from his right eye while the left began to bleed as tears mixed in his wound. Trading the throbbing in his head for the stinging in his eye.

"Admitting defeat or that you were wrong is always painful to accept. You regret all the effort you had invested into the wrong path. It's something I have to deal with myself, just as you will now." On those words the world and illusions around him faded back into reality. Fukushi was still crouched on the floor but the pain he was experiencing was gone. His mind was fixated on Aya's face. Had she been alive in spirit, alone? What can i do? Is this still fixable? Fukushi bit his lip and clinched his fist and punched a wooden beam which supported the porch roof. The beam shock under his blow but did not give in or crack under his strength.

"- _Fucking Utchiha.-"_


	22. Chapter XXI

**Excuse the long time between posts, I had issues writing this chapter. So a lot of time was wasted but ah well it's here. The 'perks' of being a single writer/editor.**

 **Been thinking about how the story would have changed if I had set it in a different period within the Naruto universe. I set it afterwards mostly so I can go into adult themes if I wanted to (haven't so far because I haven't seen a way to fit it in yet.) and secondly because I did not want to just repeat events that everyone has watch/read/written about. There are great many other fan fictions that cover this, and I personally enjoy reading them and thinking 'ooh I remember this bit' or character. As for me I wanted to use a fresher slate and not be bound so much about events or characters.**

 **That said, I wonder how characters like the akatsuki would react to Fukushi, probably wanting to recruit him for his effective use of jutsu and likely lead him down a darker route. Or even Orochimaru, I'd imagine he would have likely got hold of Fukushi at a young age when he was clueless and naïve. Naruto would have been more likely to try and save him from the other organisations instead of blame Fukushi directly for his actions. That said Fukushi would be older in this instance and so Naruto would probably look up to him for the 'cool jutsu'. Let me know what you think about this? I was just wondering as I was working out the next couple of plot lines.**

 **Minor changes: changed the character list on the story to better reflect the feel of my story. (sorry Sakura and Shikamaru)**

 **Back to the present, two days after Naruto and Fukushi fought over Saratobi.**

Since Fukushi was found asleep in the porch of Monica's family, the two appeared to be ever closer. With Fukushi taking better care over his health he spent more of their free time training Monica. For the most part he read from the book of jutsu and tried to find suitable jutsus or any tips for Monica while he himself was trying to find healing techniques which matched to his own affinity. Fukushi looked a lot stronger with his muscles now broadening due to a better diet and many of the smaller scars and bruises had begun to fade off his skin. His attire had returned to is preferred style, or to as much as he could afford. He wore an olive tunic, tied with a belt and an off-white cloak which proved to keep the weather off effectively. His katana was evermore tied to his hip where with a flick of his wrist could draw out the deadly blade, should the need arise. While usually he was seen either meditating or reading from a rather large book, bound in red leather and although the book appeared to contain many hundreds of pages, Fukushi claimed it is impossible to finish from cover to cover. As he once explained to Monica that the book itself is a product of fuuinjutsu, able to store far more than its appearance would betray.

However today was different as Fukushi was sat on a bench; reading a much smaller unassuming black book. It contained every known rogue ninja and their bounty on them. In other words, the Bingo book. Fukushi had obtained a copy since he heard about it, ironically from a bounty hunter who had underestimated Monica's ability and Fukushi's proximity. Of course, in this edition, their own profiles had been added. Fukushi glanced over to see what information had been leaked of them.

Name: Fukushi  
Age: Young adult Gender: Male  
Previous affiliations: unknown  
Rank: S  
Affinity: Lightning, rumours of Wind  
Motivation: Largely unknown although seeks certain artefacts.  
Crimes: Murder, Thievery, Assault, Escaping Prosecution.  
Wanted for: Possession of valuable information  
Notable features: Heavily injured with left eye missing and numerous scars, tattoos covering left arm, right shoulder, right wrist, right flank. Often cloaked.  
Bounty: Konoha (alive) 2.5 million Ryo  
Iwa (alive or dead) 2.3 million Ryo  
Anonymous (alive or dead) 1.9 million Ryo  
Kiri (dead) 1 million Ryo  
Ass' guild (dead) 700 thousand Ryo  
Suna (alive) 500 thousand Ryo  
Advice: Do not engage alone, if in combat aim to kill him. His teleporting jutsu makes him very efficient at singling out targets.

Name: Monica Uandi  
Age: 17 Gender: Female  
Previous affiliations: Konoha  
Rank: B  
Affinity: Fire.  
Motivation: In allegiance with Fukushi (see previous entry).  
Crimes: Murder, Thievery, Assault, Abandoning village.  
Wanted for: Abandoning the village of Konoha  
Notable features: Orange hair. Some scars on the neck. Often cloaked. Jutsu is a distinctive blue in colour.  
Bounty: Konoha (alive) 1 million Ryo  
Ass' Guild (dead) 700 thousand Ryo  
Iwa (Alive or dead) 700 thousand Ryo  
Advice: In association with Fukushi (see previous entry). Possible teacher/student relationship.

"Fuku?" A voice croaked over, still sore after Hinata's attack and she sounded rough, like the girl had a heavy cold. Monica had entered the clearing. Fortunately, once the bleeding was stopped, the healing just took time to recover has the effects of the Hyuuga gentle fist eased off her chakra networks.

"Well it looks like we are finally famous, how's your throat feeling?" He turned to look at the woman in front of him. She was wrapped up in her cloak but a bump by her hip betrayed her Wakizashi that was tied to the small of her back. Her orange hair was pinned back out of her eyes and many locks were tied into bangs and hung lazily from her head. Some even had some beads tied to her hair. Towards the back of her head, her hair was tied into a pony tail to stop the length from whipping around so much. Her appearance made her look wild, as if born and raised from nature itself. She wore black well-fitting trousers, like Fukushi which showed from underneath the cloak and her feet were clad in boots which were again similar to Fukushi and offered more support than standard shinobi sandals. Although again they were limited in quality to what their pockets could afford.

She swallowed "Sore." Monica slowly walked towards the bench and sat next to Fukushi and then leaned against him, although it felt more like falling on him as she rested her head on his shoulder. Fukushi absentminded held her to his left while moving the book further right so he could still read.

"You're rank B now and considered more dangerous than most in this book, hmph I don't think we need to worry about anyone other than official ninjas. These are just genin kids who thought they could do better outside." He looked at the woman next to him who said nothing but was reading the book that Fukushi was holding. "We should be fine." Fukushi allowed the sound of the forest, the birds and insects, the wind through the leaves; to comfort Monica. He knew her throat hurt her a lot otherwise she would be talking more than this.

They still lived in the village of Harugama, her grandparents were willing to take them in which meant they had a warm and dry to place to stay in comfort. For Fukushi this was a long time coming, although he did not tell them how long it had been since he had slept in a bed. Despite having many troubles in his past he did not wish to share; one thing weighed on his heart the most. He hadn't the heart to tell her what happened when they found him outside, asleep from exhaustion once again. He had not realised that the spirit of Aya was still alive, just he had pushed her into the deepest corner of his mind. His soul partner and he had abandoned her. He shuddered at the thought, 'maybe that Uchiha was right, I am an awful person'. He thought to himself as he knew just thinking about her wouldn't mean he would be forgiven.

"Are you cold?" Monica spoke quietly, Fukushi didn't have time to answer as the woman saddled him and laid down like a blanket over him. He needed to find Sasuke, the leaf legend had already defeated him once but whatever the effect of the sharingan was. Since their duel, Fukushi had received frequent nightmares, ghosts of those he had killed or failed flickered in and out of the very edges of his field of vision. He had managed to persuade Monica that nothing was wrong, just bad dreams. A spiral of depression that only he could resolve but still it does not mean he could get help off others. but one thing he knew for sure, was that he had no idea how much more of revisiting memories he could take.

"Come on Monica, if you can get up you can train." He tapped her hip and gently pushed her off. He could start on working with Monica. He was impressed with her eagerness to learn. Although to him, all debt was replayed when Monica had saved him almost a month ago. She just replied that she wanted to be with him. 'No need to owe anyone anything' was what she had told him. Fukushi could say without a doubt she is enjoying herself at least. Once they stood up he lead her out of the clearing to reveal that they weren't more than a few feet off the plaza in front of Monica's family house. Fukushi lazily tossed half a dozen kunai across the plaza and a pale-yellow wall was erected, mainly to protect the houses nearby and, in due time, a small crowed who had never seen ninja fight before. Doing this also helped Fukushi maintain the shield while continuing the fight, a very useful and deadly strategy. The pair of shinobi took opposite ends of the plaza and looked each other up and down. Widening their stance and readying their arms for the upcoming spar.

"Wait, Fukushi!" A man called from behind. One of the neighbours who ended up offering paid work, and to help Fukushi fit into the village better. He was red in the face from running, presumably from the town square. He ran for a bit longer until he was at the plaza. "You want to hear this, someone is offering a bounty for someone with your exact description!" Both of the ninja deadpanned him.

"Are they ninja or from the leaf village?"

"Neither, I don't think they are shinobi."

"Hmm. Interesting."

"Should we check it out fuku?" Monica asked, calling him by his pet name. She had no idea someone else had beaten her to it but Fukushi didn't mind her calling it. If he was honest with himself he liked it when only Monica called him by his abbreviated name. With a flick of his hand the yellow barrier fell and the kunai that marked the corners puffed into smoke which idly blew away with the light breeze.

"But why did you have to run up here? I am sure we would have found out if they were looking for us."

"Yes, but they were offering huge sums of money, many people may turn against you. Just don't blame them please."

"I guess." Fukushi sighed and waited for Monica to catch up. The pair waved at the man who honestly still looked concerned about what he saw. "Don't worry, we are strong enough to handle whatever they throw at us." Fukushi waved his hand dismissively and started to walk down the winding road towards the town square.

"- _Memory is the key here._ -" A female voice sounded and made Fukushi flinch and glance around with his right eye.

"Did you hear something?"

"Hmm? No, Just a bad feeling." Fukushi was half right, Aya's voice rarely made sense over the past month, he would hear her reciting random memories from time to time but almost deliberately ignored Fukushi who tried to communicate with his soul bound spirit. However, she just made sense… too much sense, as if she was listening in and giving advice. "Be ready to move."

It wasn't long until they reached the crowed of people. They could hear a man bellowing instructions in the middle of them. Fukushi deadpanned as he approached but what happened confused the pair of shinobi. Once the crowed noticed them they all stepped back and gave them mournful looks. As if he and Monica were walking up to their own execution. The shinobi figured they would have a chance to talk but the moment his purple eye met with the blue eyes of the man holding out a scroll and standing on a cart. He glared right back at them.

"So, the fly has fallen into the web. Riflemen! Targets identified! Fire!" Suddenly around half a dozen men moved and drew out long metal and wooden weapons and pointed them directly at the shinobi.

"Monica move!" Monica and Fukushi dived to either side as a thunderous roar from the muskets echoed throughout the valley. Followed quickly by loud screams as the village ran for their lives. In mere seconds the town square was empty save for two shinobi and six men busy reloading their muskets.

"What the fuck are they doing here?" Fukushi peaked around the corner of a building he was hiding behind.

"Who are they?" Monica asked, going as loud as her throat would allow.

"I pray to god it's not who I think. Please don't let it be them. Monica, careful there is usually more hiding. Go up high and kill anyone that you can see." Fukushi took out his blade which hung by his left flank and by cue, Monic took her blade out and channelled chakra into her legs and jumped up to the roof of the building. Scrambling up she drew the attention of some of the gunmen. Fukushi made a move. He threw four kunai around the corner and erected a barrier just as he jumped out. The muskets fired another volley. Almost instantaneously the electrical barrier was hit and glowed a fierce yellow, crackling loudly but otherwise holding. Fukushi dropped the shield as it would just use up chakra and he flicked two kunai at two men. Neither had the skill or agility to dodge and so the blades pierced between their eyes and their lives fell from reality. A flash of lightning and Fukushi was behind on of the gunmen. Before anyone realized where he was, the deadly katana cleaved through the third man's torso and dissected him through the middle, a spray of blood coating the ground in front. The ninja spun and sliced the throat of the forth man with his summoned kunai sitting in his left hand. With his leg, Fukushi kicked the barrel of a musket off target and through reflex the rifle fired off a round. Killing the fifth man through his heart. Fukushi finished off the sixth gunman moments later by finishing his move and flicking the kunai through the last mans' eye.

"- _I thought the Solaris weren't a warrior based family?-"_ The man who ordered the attack stood terrified at the efficiency of his targets attacks. He had his own sword drawn but visibly shaking. Showing his lack of experience. While Fukushi held his katana firmly and level in his right hand.

"- _What were you expecting when you found me? That I would roll over and let you kill me?_ -" Fukushi kept up a powerful poker face. The colour in his remaining eye dimmed. And fixed on his target. If looks could kill then this man would have been spared the cold steel. –" _So tell me what is legion doing here?"-_

"- _I'd rather die than tell an arrogant family like you!-"_ He finally mustered the corage to strike out. Although against Fukushi, courage could only take you so far. The one-eyed shinobi flinched back to avoid the attacking blade while he plunged his own katana through the mans' heart. He pushed himself closer to the dying man.

"- _I get it, you would have been executed for failure.-"_ The surviving combatant withdrew his sword from the body and flicked the blood off the blade. Fukushi looked around. 'What's taking Monica so long?' A question soon answered as a body was thrown out of a nearby window. Seconds later and Monica leaped out after the other woman and landed on top of her, baring her wakizashi down on her throat. The woman held the blade in her hands but slowly the blade slipped lower as her hands were sliced by the edge.

"I caught one Fuku, what would you like me to do to her?"

"Fucking pig, oi Solaris bastard get your wench off me!" She called out as if Fukushi would show her mercy. Instead he calmly walked towards the two ninja fighting over the bloodied blade. The unknown woman was clearly exhausted and straining hard to keep Monica from killing her.

"Tell me, why should I let you live after you insulted someone precious to me?"

"B..Because… You're clearly trying to restart your family… information I could get money off. I'll pretend I never saw you. We both benefit see?" She stuttered as the blade painfully sliced down another centimetre. Fukushi smiled.

"Wow, what great haggling skills. - _There is nothing you could offer me that would spare you from what you did to my family and home.-"_ Fukushi spoke with venom in his words, although Monica couldn't understand she knew the intentions behind it. The ninja placed his hand on top of Monica's and began to push down. The woman's screams only continued for as long as her throat was intact. She gurgled the last of her breath as her eyes slowly showed to be void of life.

Oddly Monica could help but giggle. "Wow, Fuku, I didn't realise you were this vicious when you wanted to be." She got up and hugged the man despite both being coated in blood. Their white cloaks forever stained with the blood of today's battle. She kissed him on the lips for a few seconds. "Are you alright? This was fun right?"

"You're not gonna like this but… we are out of time." On the surface Fukushi appeared to be calm but in reality he was terrified. His past really was coming back to haunt him.

"What do you mean?"

"We have to go to Konoha, hopefully they have more sense than to put us onto the chopping block." He looked away and sighed heavily at his own convictions.

Monica's eyes widened. "Fuku! No don't! They'll split us up and I can't live without you. Let's just take out chances and get out of here? I'll follow you to the ends of the world. Just not back there." She turned his head with a stained hand and looked deep into his remaining eye hoping that he would agree.

"No, we can't, we can't just keep running. Hell, there's no point in holding onto this damn book if I can't use it in fear someone will take it away. Look, we have a bargaining chip, I'd rather choose who gets it rather than get wound down and killed for it. Or worse, _you_ get killed over it. That's what I can't live with."

"Bu…"

"Face it, Monica we run we will never get out of this and we will die. The fact legion is here means they have found a way to bring whole armies over not just a small team of dead idiots. But I can offer my knowledge for your protection."

"Couldn't we go with legion? If you want to trade your book for protection, maybe going to their side might be safer? They don't have a motive to backstab us."

Fukushi sighed heavily and pushed Monica off. "They killed my family, friends, future, and home. Taken everything away from me and giving in to them would not change anything. Legion works off greed. I have something they don't. But giving it to them won't sate this greed. I'm the last member of my family, making me the leader by default and so a powerful political piece. They'll want my name or my head. As for you, they'll sell you for sex or marry you off. It's that simple. Legion is not an option, and never will be." Fukushi hissed, clearly irritated that Monica even suggested going with Legion.

Monica sniffed and tried to hold back some tears. "I just don't want to leave you."

Fukushi pulled her in for another hug. "I'll make it so you're safe alright?" He squeezed her and kissed her forehead.

She sniffed again. "Alright."

"We need to pack, there will be more coming." He took her hand. "I'm not budging until you're safe. It's the least I can do." His thoughts continued further although because he dared not speak out loud. He knew Aya was a kind spirit who would do anything to help others. Perhaps he could at least make her spirit proud of him. Although if Sasuke knew, how much influence did he really have? Regardless he still had a point. More-so than before especially if legion was here now. The book he held was to be paid for in blood. At first, Fukushi did not except this, then he understood what was meant by blood after he killed people just to get back pages. Now he realised that entire nations may bleed just to get at its power.

Internal conflict aside they had to get out of the town. Their first step was always the same no matter which route they took. Taking the shortest route through the allotments and undergrowth the pair burst through the oak doors of and rushed upstairs. Collecting the few possessions and clothes into storage seals. They worked fast and cleared out Monica's old room in a matter of minutes. Neither had noticed the elderly woman enter the room and nearly jumped when she spoke.

"What's going on, I heard a fight broke out at the village square, and now you're packing?"

Monica was about to answer but Fukushi raised his hand politely. "Monica, may I answer this… Mrs Uandi… to put this simply, I'm the head of my family and I should act as such. I will repay you for your kindness if I make it out alive, but I… we should put right these mistakes. I'm just sorry it took me this long to realise."

"So, you've finally grown up. Stubbornness is a very childish trait dear. It gets those you care about the most hurt." Monica's Grandmother smiled and chuckled slightly. "And you don't need to be so formal with me. I'm only an old woman."

"T-thank you." Fukushi didn't mean to stutter but it only meant his words were from the heart. He blinked blankly before bowing politely.

"Monica dear, you really have chosen a wise man. I am going to be honest but I was worried the two of you would go down a darker path. But seeing you picking yourself out of it means that you meant well just were led astray. Fukushi, you know I am not far off the truth."

"Just wish it wasn't almost getting shot that kicked my head into gear. I should have grown up sooner."

"Everyone blooms at different times, although could I ask you something?" She waited for Fukushi to nod. "You never told us why you wanted to get those pages so much."

"Sorry" Fukushi admitted then sighed. "It was the last thing my father told me to do. But I was betrayed by the man who took me in and I lost a large portion of that book. My priorities wrong and I got fixated on trying to find the missing pages to the point that I never thought about the future."

"Until you met me?" Monica interrupted, with enthusiasm in her voice. A wave of pride flowed through her as 'Fuku' was about to say her name. He looked at her, smiled and nodded.

"Half right." Earning him a small pout. "We should get going, I have no idea how fast they are planning to work but I know that if they want me for my Jutsu and name. Then we are in danger."

The two finished packing and walked down and out of the house. Fukushi was thinking hard over something that Monica could not quite read. Probably due to the nerves both are experiencing but the outside air felt off for some reason. Like something was about to happen, something big. Fukushi seemed to be distracted by it and constantly staring off in certain direction.

"Monica, before you leave. Just know he is doing this for you." Her grandmother smiled at her granddaughter who smiled back.

"He'd be lost without me." Fukushi did not want to admit how right she was. Without her he doubted he would be alive let alone be found trusting the hidden leaf. Banking on her past relationships instead of forging brand new ones. Which of course would be nigh on impossible given his history. He took a deep breath to calm down his nerves, facing those who had destroyed his family had affected him as such, yet the full realisation had not quite sunk in yet.

The two shinobi stood side by side. On the threshold of turning their lives around and make something better of themselves. Perhaps this was the message Sasuke had imbedded with his Sharingan. They turned to face each other, purple eye to grey eyes. "I hope you know what you're doing."


	23. Chapter XXII V2

**Wow, its been a busy past couple months, finished a year in university. Got attacked by fleas. Throw out squatters. Tidy my house up. Finally settled down and started writing some more. Keep an eye out on earlier chapters I am adding additional bits and changing the characters somewhat (usually significantly by over 1000 words extra per chapter). Like toning down Fukushi and Naruto. I felt their portrayal was slightly off, although I may want to increase Monica's 'uniqueness'. And actually tone down Naru/Hina relationship just a little bit, I feel like I have been inconsistent and I kinda wanted them to be very close in the story but not quite there (you'll see it soon don't worry.) As for lemons that I've mentioned. I am struggling to fit into the story as they do break the mood and pace by a lot.**

 **Also thoughts from me while reading other fan-fics. Why is flashbacks used so much? I mean I get it's for telling a bit of back-story which is fine but I personally feel they break pacing too much too.**

 **I am feeling more confident about my story and how people respond to them so I may be changing some previous chapters a lot more than others as I was worried I was going to put off readers, until I realised most don't go past the first chapter anyway (sad days). But I want to write this for me more than anything so I'll keep at it despite not being the hottest piece of literature. (Little bit naïve to think my first story would be a massive hit but ah well, live and learn.)**

 **Please continue to support me, I do always enjoy reading reviews although I am always nervous when I get the emails in case it's a bad one and I've fucked up.**

 **Second edition: someone kindly pointed out I had written something that did not make sense, so I am changing it.**

 **Meanwhile in Konoha**

Kakashi could only be described as defeated. One pile of paperwork after another and he had enough. Sitting on his office chair and slumped into his arms while fiddling with his pen. With Shikamaru still trying to decipher an entire language and no one to help organise the documents so it was no longer a bottom line and sign a line deal. He finally understood why many Kage develop some kind of addiction, for example Tsunade's drinking and her gambling. He had considered getting a replacement for Shikamaru but he hadn't the heart to subject anyone to this level of boredom. At least the Nara clan leader didn't mind and it was less 'troublesome' than active duty. The sixth Hokage closed his eyes and wished for a distraction. Although at this point the lesson of 'be careful what you wish for' would have been valuable to Kakashi. He heard a tab on the window which caught his attention. The tapping was from a messenger crow, an important one to be right at the window instead of the messenger tower. He slowly got up and if half his body was still asleep and Kakashi opened the window. He took a deep breath of fresh air in and silently held his hand out for the bird to jump onto his wrist. To a civilian, the bird would be too heavy but Kakashi had untold strength from his many years training. He thumbed the message off the leg and reached over for a peanut inside a small tub by the window. After feeding the bird he threw it into the air and the hawk spread its wings and took flight. Now Kakashi unravelled the note and read. 'Dynamo of the Fire country has summoned you in two days at noon.' Kakashi sighed and wondered what the Dynamo could want. For the most part the Hokage and the Dynamo worked autonomously from each other but he still had to answer to him over country wide policies. However, this was unusual, normally the Dynamo would have set regular dates of which meant Kakashi was not to be summoned for another three weeks at least. Before Kakashi could sit down, he noticed Sasuke had let himself in. Silently and unnoticed until he let his presence known to Kakashi.

"Sensei." He politely greeted and Kakashi simply nodded and played off that he was surprised. The Hokage sat down into his office chair and clasped his hands together, giving his former student his full attention.

"You're back early, not since you delivered that weapon. Although we haven't been able to determine how it was used. We don't have enough left to make use of it."

Sasuke nodded. "Well I have returned with some new information. A note, just before half of my spy network vanished."

"Vanished?"

"Not responding, not leaving messages, nothing." Sasuke replied in a monotone.

"Not sure how your network could go silent so quickly but what was the note?"

"That note said, 'Revise your allies.'"

"Was that all?"

"Other than it was actually directed to you, yes that's all, Lord Kakashi you don't know what this means I take it?"

Kakashi furrowed his brow at the 'lord' but shook his head. "No."

"Tsh, I guess I'll keep digging."

"You could ask Shikamaru although he'll probably just spell out the obvious."

"I'll leave first thing tomorrow, Sakura is needing to catch up with friends."

"They are your friends you know."

Sasuke only nodded once before turning to leave, his dark blue cloak flicked around him as he opened the door to leave the office. Kakashi sighed heavily. Things were getting more and more difficult now. Another knock, this time at the door that Sasuke just left a mere minute ago. In fact as the door opened you could still see Sasuke who hung around in case he was needed. For good reason, the man was a chunin, wore standard shinobi gear with dark sunglasses and his kunai were visible on his arms to be thrown at a moment's notice.

"Lord Hokage, lightning has been spotted about five miles from the North gate. It's him!"

"That close? Understood, Sasuke get a team of jonin shinobi ready to meet me at the North gate. You can go back to your post. Make sure everyone is armed."

"I'll get the dope." Sasuke vanished without a trace.

Kakashi had already stood to attention and walked over to an armour stand which held his flak jacket and a few bits of his shinobi attire, such as pouches and protective plates. His head was swimming with thoughts, too much has happened in a small space and Kakashi did not like it. His raised his hand to his face and shunshin'd outside.

Meanwhile, five miles away, Monica and Fukushi were stood side by side with their weapons drawn. In front of them in the clearing were around thirty shinobi. The majority had their headbands scratched out. The two noticed that many were from various minor villages such as the waterfall, rain and hot springs. All apart from six Shinobi in the middle who to Monica she could not identify. However, to Fukushi who saw their heavier armour. A patterned bronze cuirass resting on top of dark blue robes. Supporting a bronze helmet with a plumb of dark hair and blue stones set into the head plate. Giving them a much darker appearance to their counterparts. Each of the six warriors looked armed to the teeth with a uniform spear in each hand, a sword by their belt, and an assortment of small tools and weapons should they come to need them.

"See I told you there will always be more, Monica watch out for the ones in blue. They are well trained and probably have powerful ninjutsu." He whispered to his partner.

"You think we can make a break for it?"

"No, they managed to put a fuuinjutsu on me, likely have a counter to my teleporting. If I am going to be honest, we are at a disadvantage."

Despite the two talking, no one moved. Doing so would initiate the battle and someone was likely to die. To the rogue shinobi, their lack of skill should have made them cocky and attacked prematurely. Had their ambush worked, no less than seven were cut down in a matter of seconds to the onslaught of the rogue pair. Their bodies lay around the clearing, still and stained from their lethal cuts.

"Well well, what do we have here?" One man in blue interrupted, presumably the leader as his armour had gold trimmings on and more blue stones adorning him. He also lacked a sword but instead had a hatchet on his side, and unusual weapon to fight with granted but revealed he was something of a special flower in the group. "The last of the Solaris family. Fleeing from the fire like the rat you are."

"Who said I was fleeing?"

"If you knew what was coming, you should. But for now, you have something that our emperor wants. Give it to me boy!"

"Are you just gonna' talk all day? Or are you going to come and get it?"

"We have much to talk about boy. For starters, how long as it been since you saw your home?" The man grinned. The only reaction was Fukushi twitching his eye but it was enough to know how he felt. "Seven? Eight years? Oh, I was there too. Your family was by far the weakest we had to face. More-so now that only a coward survived, a pitiful existence with no pride or wealth, no name and no family. Well we will be the one to put you out of your misery. So you can rest easy."

"Bastard…"

"What was that boy? You think you can stand up to us? A whore and a coward against thirty warriors?" He got a battle cry out of all the surrounding shinoibi, as if what he said was entertaining a crowed and they liked it.

"I said, you're a bastard. You killed my family and now I'll make sure I'll be the one to cut the head off your greedy emperor."

"You won't even live to see me strike you a second time. Soliders! The bounty on this mans' head has just risen to three million ryo. Bring it to me!"

Upon his command four nina jumped up into the air. Two of them could not have been older than Fukushi himself. The first planted a foot on Fukushi's left arm which glowed yellow for the small shield he had summoned and pushed the girl off who summersaulted back over her attack. Monica was more direct in her approach. She timed her slash to hit her opponent while he was vulnerable in the air. She immediately spun her blade around and stabbed the man through his back just as he landed. To finish it off she retracted her blade and cut the head off to make sure he was as dead as a door nail. She managed to summon a kunai and block a swipe from another opponent. Their blades locked but Fukushi had just thrown off his attacker and immediately forces his blade down on the arms of her aggressor. Slicing them clean off at the elbows. Monica returned the favour by flicking her kunai at another woman who tried to flank Fukushi to the right. The blade imbedded into her stomach and immediately combusted into emerald blue flames. With a shriek in fear as the flames quickly engulfed her and she fled to try and find water. Although she did not get very far as the screams started and his fell to the floor, writhing around. Monica even took a moment to watch her burn, smiling at how she moved and how the flames seemed to evade her attempts to squash them out.

Fukushi and Monica bobbed and weaved past each other. She cut a man on his arm who jumped back before she could strike again. With death in her eyes she smiled as she quickly signed through a jutsu with her left hand.

"Fire style: flaming breath!" Monica shouted before exhaling a jet of fire which forced the enemy away. The fire seemed heavy though and once it reached the limits of her range the fire fell to the floor and 'stuck' to the ground creating a wall of fire.

Fukushi had more to deal with. One opponent managed to kick his katana high into the air. In turn the one-eyed shinobi kicked the man away and lunged at the second man who was expecting him to be unarmed. He blocked Fukushi's palm with his arms in a cross shape but he was only blasted away in an explosion of sparks as Fukushi's silent jutsu connected. A chain was thrown around Fukushi's waist but instead of being pinned. A crack of lightning and Fukushi was in front of the thrower. He slashed his chest and spun him around so his back was turned towards Monica, plunging his kunai deep into the mans' gut and a quick weave of signs, Fukushi palmed the man and send him flying like the previous opponent. Fukushi teleported back to Monica's side before an opening was exploited and he grabbed the katana by the hilt. With both hands, he cut the man he launched at himself in half. Blood spraying across the two warriors.

Standing back in their original places stood the two, rogue shinobi. Now faced with a thinned crowed of less confident shinobi. Their faces and nervous glances were evident as they had begun to doubt their ability compared to the two opponents. Their style lacked refinement yet their coordination and concentration; mixed in with unorthodox movements and fast, powerful ninjutsu.

"I might have been impressed but is that all you have? A Solaris, masters of jutsu. Hmph looks like we don't need to be worried about you. Clearly you've wasted your years on the run with this whore."

"Shut the fuck up, I am not a whore." Monica shouted back but the team of blue warriors all burst out laughing.

"Feisty for a whore aren't you. What are you? Sixteen? I prefer my women my age but I am sure you'll fetch a good price."

"Come down here and I'll show you how little of a man you really are." She hissed but still remained routed by Fukushi who was glancing at her for her outburst. Monica's heart was thumping loudly, she knew that if they were enough to make Fukushi worried then she could not overstep her limits for a second. Having said that he hated when they laughed. It scratched the back of her head and became painful quickly. Her shouting helped though, just must not go too far.

"You know these bandits that you managed to round up are no match for us. So come and do your own dirty work. Or are you so set on keeping your pretty and delicate skin from getting hurt. Are you worried that we might be better than you?" Fukushi goaded at them. He thought that playing to their arrogance would get them to duel him. Sure, he knew they won't fight fair but if honour was ever held in their eyes then duelling might be the best option. Fukushi had the chakra to prolonge the fight, although he was worried about Monica who still had not gained confidence with sealing enough to tattoo her body with a chakra seal. Her fire jutsu was powerful but burned chakra very quickly.

"You can't even scratch me!" The leader of the group jumped in front of everyone and spun his spear around his body until he had gripped it firmly in his two hands and began to charge against the pair. Fukushi and Monica readied their weapons before them and both blade remained perfectly still. The blue warrior would have cleared the distance in a few strides had a strange eagle not divebombed directly in front of his path. The eagle was not a natural bird but instead black and white with stylised swirls, as if it was drawn then summoned. The eagle immediately exploded into a pool of ink which caused the blue warrior to jump back. Especially as two lions of similar style pulled themselves out of the ink and then jumped on him. However, with a quick jap of his spear, one lion was felled and before the second lion could cause any damage he swung the spear like a mace over his head and forced it crashing down on the skull of the second lion.

"Interrupting something?" A pale man stepped out of behind a tree which was up a bank and behind Monica.

"Fuku. Behind" Monica hissed as the pair immediately stepped so they were back to back. Just as she said that though several ninjas emerged from the forest. Standing on branches and looking down at the battle before them. While Fukushi only knew some of them, that and he was facing the foreign shinobi. Monica knew their names. Sai, Naruto, Sasuke who had an air of knowing something no one else did, Sakura, Hinata to which Monica shuddered and was reminded of her gentle fist attacks, Lee, Shino, Kiba and his companion; Akamaru, Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, and lastly Tenten. Monica looked at each one of them who in turn gave her the look of disgust. Especially Lee who looked like he was already defeated but nevertheless ready to fight.

"Are you sure you want to keep going with this plan?" Monica whispered. "They brought all their best ninja."

"Put it this way. We will die doing the right thing in the end, even if no one knows it."

"I'm scared it feels like we are escaping Iwa all over again. I don't want to lose you." Monica replied, Fukushi reached behind and gave her arm a comforting squeeze.

"We've been looking for you!" Naruto's loud and commanding voice rang out in the clearing. From the perspective of the leaf ninja they had arrived at the middle of a battle. Sai was there waiting for them because he had finally caught up to his targets. With a little help of the clear signs if ninjutsu being performed. They had all agreed to show full force despite not expecting the rogue shinobi to be actually there by the time they had arrived. They were proven wrong, already Shikamaru was wondering why the fight is taking so long, and who the distinct dark bronze and blue shinobi were.

The man who had just taken out the ink beasts just looked around amused. "Oh I see it now. The last of the Solaris and you were too cowardly to even ask for help. Leaf ninja, help me take the boy and I'll let you have the girl, we don't need her."

Sasuke deadpanned. "These rogue ninjas are to be brought in and tried for crimes they committed to us. We will even overlook your rogue allies, for now."

"Does it matter which cage he ends up in. We will even offer you riches beyond your wildest dreams."

"And what crime has a ten year old child ever done to you? The age he was when he ran from his home?" With this he got a few looks off his comrades.

"Sasuke, who are these men?" Naruto asked, not breaking his stare on the pair in the middle of both sides.

"Dope, you of all people should know that there is always more about a person than you see or know."

"You never said that you know him."

"You never asked."

"Our business is our own, stand down or we will kill you too." The blue ninja interrupted. He sounded impatient as tensions were rising to the point someone could feel it hanging in the air. He looked around and made a 'tick' noise. "You know what? Fuck it. Men, keep our guests off me. I'll get him myself!" On his command the five comrades he brought shunshined in front of the leaf shinobi who immediately had to jump back as five spears in unison lunged forward.

Sasuke side stepped his attacker, the sharingan aiding him in instantly anticipating the attack. He dodged the flurry of stabs from the spear, took a step back and with lightning relaxes, drew his sword and parried the spear head. Stepped in while twisting the sword into the reverse grip and proceeded to slash at the man's neck. However, Sasuke had to cancel the attack, the butt of the spear was thrusted towards his gut and so the Uchiha jumped over the blue warrior throwing his sword like a javelin, but the spear caught it and flicked Sasuke's attack to one side. The distraction paid off as Sasuke had enough time to build up chakra for the Uchiha specialty.

"Fire style: Giant fireball." He inhaled and exhaled a fierce and large fireball, aimed directly the foreign warrior. Who stood firm and took the attack directly. He thrusted the spear into the ground and kneeled before the fire-user. The fire died down in reveal a bubble of water, steam billowing off it violently as Sasuke's attack was cancelled. "Sai! Deal with him. I am going after Fukushi!"

The second man to lunge at Sakura had a surprise when she immediately grabed onto the spear and with her right arm, punched him directly into the chest. Bending the metal of his armour under her fist. Her opponent was knocked back, landing hard on his back. He jumped back up and drew his sword that hung by his hip. Glaring at the pink haired opponent.

Ino had her eyes wide open as the tip of the blade neared her chest. Time slowed for her as she had no way to move quick enough out of the way. She was about to let out a silent scream but to her left she heard her comrade, Choji speak.

"Partial expansion Jutsu!" the spear wielder was subsequently replaced by a large fist which was around the size of the man himself. The blue shinobi immediately was forced painfully into the other blue ninja who struck out at Shikamaru. Shikamaru had caught the spear in his hands. With an iron grip, he summoned his shadows to paralyse the man in place. Shikamaru's opponent could only watch as the improvised projectile ploughed into him and knocked both men into a heap on the floor.

Last of all, Shino, out of all the leaf ninja he was the only one to be actually 'hit'. He looked down at the pole which had penetrated straight through his chests. The flak jacket darkened with the blood. Despite this, no cry of agony came for the man. In fact, the only indication that Shino was wiser of the situation was a small 'hmph' in acknowledgment. Shino then revealed himself to be an insect clone. The last unnamed ninja immediately reeled back from the insects but instead of shaking them off he punched the ground and sent thousands of small spikes made of grass into each and every insect was impaled by the small green blades. The attacked earned a nod from Shino who was standing further into the treeline.

A full-on shinobi battle had started, Sai taking on Sasuke's opponent, Choji, Ino, Shikamaru, Shino and Sakura took on their respective opponents. Tenten, Lee, Hinata, Kiba, and Akamaru dived down into the fray below and quickly separated to chase down the rogue Ninja. Hinata made a spit judgement call and immediately leaped up into the air, and for good reason. A blue fireball exploded where she was standing moments ago, trails of embers shot out in all directions as the ground was scorched. Hinata landed to face Monica who had a fireball in her left hand, illuminating her in a blue glow. In her right hand was her Wakizashi. She flicked it and the blade caught aflame, fire burned fiercely as if it was trying to pull away from her.

"Round two bitch."

"You're not going to run away with just a throat injury this time." Hinata called back, her Byakugan activated and both hands in front of her and stretched out to ready herself for combat.

That left Naruto and Sasuke, Naruto was first to approach Fukushi who was already engaged by the head blue ninja. They stood apart by around five paces and had their weapons in both of their hands as if limiting them to just physical attacks. The unnamed man rushed forward and lunged at Fukushi who swiped his sword from left to right and flicked the tip away from his face. With one fluid movement, he the swung up to catch the foreign warrior in the chest or chin. However, he was blocked by the shaft of the spear which would have normally been sliced in half with such a move. But instead Fukushi's blade dug into rock, a transformation which happened instantaneously. The man did not stop there, he twisted the spear shaft and buried the tip into the ground. Giving Fukushi a split second to jump back as a stone spear erupted from the ground.

"Rasengan!" Naruto called out just as he caught up to the combat, he was already in his biju form, knowing that anything less and he would be too slow to counter Fukushi's lightning prowess. To which Fukushi obliged and teleported out of the resengan's path and allowing for the blue shinobi to take the brunt of the force. Or so was the plan, Fukushi jumped behind Naruto in a bright flash of lightning but immediately found himself within a fuuinjutsu pentagram trap which finally came into play. The trap glowed a fierce red before a huge explosion, blasting the one-eyed shinobi across the clearing and hitting the ground hard, clattering back ungracefully. He had absorbed most of the hit by jumping as he had been expecting some sort of counter but had he been a second slow he was sure his legs would have been blown off. Meanwhile, Naruto was on target to hit the foreign warrior but the distance he still had to cover allowed him to raise the spear and turn it into stone. Spear and resengan collide and after a slight resistance both weapons exploded, spear into fragments and the resengan dissipated.

Without missing a beat, Naruto swung with his fist and resorted to blunter tactics and punched his square in the face. Before any further combat could continue a shower of kunai rained on the pair. Naruto jumped back, while the dark blue warrior drew out his axe. He appeared to snap it in half and in the end, he held two axes, one in each hand and proceeded to parry the oncoming kunai. Bolt after bolt of lightning struck the man every time he parried. His mistake became clear as once the smoke cleared from the intense head he was pulling a kunai that had lodged deep into his gut. The blade fizzed out into nothingness as he flicked it to one side. He got up off his knee and pulled the axe out of the earth and back to being fully equipped, albeit gritting his teeth in pain.

Fukushi dived on the orange glowing shinobi, katana baring down on him. This time, Naruto in turn, noticed the attack and held out a tri-pronged kunai to block the deadly blade. The two collided with a horrific grinding shriek as neither material gave up under the strength. Fukushi and Naruto looked into each other's faces momentarily, Fukushi won the mental battle and began to pour electric chakra through his sword. Naruto held on but the pain quickly grew intense for him. Roaring like a beast being struck by the hunter, the Uzimaki formed a resengan in his left hand. The blue chakra spun faster and faster, becoming more and more concentrated until he thrust his palm at Fukushi, forcing him to cancel his attack and jump back. Naruto was ready for his move and threw the kunai at Fukushi who ducked under the projectile and turned to expect Naruto. On cue Naruto appeared in a flicker, but he made a move that Fukushi was not expecting. A blow from Naruto's forehead. The distraction was enough to through said resengan into the rogue's chest and blow him back, past the blue warrior who dodged the human projectile.

"You had to get in our way." He called at the blond who was still emitting the biju chakra. "We would have easily beaten the two of them. But you had to interfere!" The leader of the blue shinobi began to charge Naruto. Both axes were outstretched as if he meant to give him a bear hug.

"Hey asshole, if you're going to trap me, at least make sure it can't backfire." Fukushi called out but before anyone could figure the one Solaris survivor teleported right behind his opponent and grappled his throat before pushing off him to jump away from the trap that was set up. Before the man fell to the floor the trap detonated and propelled him across to Naruto.

"Chidori!" Sasuke stepped in front of Naruto just as he was about to duck and avoid the man. He looked up to see his old team mate standing strong and with a glowing fist through the heart of the man who groaned lowly to himself. "Get up dope, can't have you sitting on the job." Sasuke glanced at the hissing bronze that was supposed to protect the man. Instead it bent inwards along with Sasuke's fist. All he heard was the man chuckle his last breath away.

"You ssstill l..l…lose…"

The dying man weakly pointed towards the forest edge. Sasuke glanced over and saw several men rushing to find a good spot to kneel and take aim. Some just stood in the open while others were kneeling or laying behind cover. Had they been ninjas, they would have put the leaf to shame with their 'stealth' because many of them had fainter chakra signatures than Lee himself. No, these were not shinobi trained in the arts, these were normal humans while limited to no chakra signatures. Inferior to ninja in every way except they were invisible to chakra based sensory that shinobi were renowned for. Each man was aiming with a weapon previously unseen in the area. A long pipe-like weapon made of metal and wood. Above the right hand, where the trigger was, held a simple leaver that held a small piece of string. The string was smouldering quietly with a small wisp of smoke creeping past the faces of the civilian warriors. Most important of all, the string was poised to plunge into the chamber and fire the weapon. Even Sasuke felt the immediate surprise threat to his life. His Sharingan could see several fingers twitch on the trigger. With speed rivalling that of the great forth hokage he throw the dead man to one side and Shunshined with a nearby body to get of their aim.

"Fuku! Duck!" Monica's voice screamed out, penetrating the general noise of battle but then quickly silencing it. Everyone looked at the Orange haired ninja who momentarily broke combat with Hinata. A Thunderous roar echoed throughout. Sounding like hundreds of explosive tags all going off at the same time. Flash followed by smoke erupted from the forest edge. Projectiles started to instantly thud against the ground like heavy hail. Monica, who had also saw the advance to the tree line immediately dived for the floor and avoided all the projectiles, narrowly missing several bullets. Fukushi and Sakura were the lucky ones, bullets whizzed past but none scored a hit. Ino was first to be struck under the relentless fire, the projectile penetrated straight through her shoulder, she cried out in pain before falling down in shock. Shikamaru was tripped up as a bullet struck him in the leg. Shino was not as lucky as one bullet struck him in the gut and followed immediately by a second shot to the arm, he crumpled to the floor in agony. Choji too was not so lucky and was shot in his right lung. His strength counted for nothing as the projectile lodged deep into his chest. Sai, Lee, Tenten, and Kiba had moved out of the clearing as their fights lead them away from the main conflict. Naruto was the exception, the biju ability prevented the projectiles to penetrate his flesh. Kurama was working hard to keep up the chakra armour but he couldn't do anything about the concussive force of each shot. The blond was able to stand the first two shots but he quickly lost balance and fell into his back. Kurama's chakra held but the bruises would last. That is until he witnessed something horrific. Monica had dived out of the way of Hinata which left her completely exposed. Naruto's eyed widened in fear as a small metal ball shot straight through her throat, knocking her back from the force of the attack as if she slipped on something or ran into a low bar. Her beautiful pale eyes had already begun to darken and become void of life as tears splashed off her cheeks. Time stood still and the world bowed its head in reverence. Naruto had seen it all and already was drawing parallels when Hinata had sacrificed herself for him, a feeling he still was not used to nor will he ever be. He could feel his heart ache, worse than being shot, stabbed and beaten to the floor.

"Kurama." He spoke in a low dark voice. "Finish this."

"Naruto, without my chakra you could get…"

"Finish this." The blond interrupted. He stood up despite the hair of bullets still shooting past the leaf shinobi. Kurama burst out of the Jinchuriki into his full-sized form. He looked over his shoulder to see the boy who had managed to quench his anger.

"Naruto… I'm sorry, I know how much she meant to you." He spoke with a voice full of empathy for what feels like the first time in his life. That feeling was short lived, rage built up in the biju and all nine tails immediately shot forward and killed nine men instantly. Several more vaporised in the blast of pure chakra that he charged up in one deafening roar. It wasn't long until the riflemen all began to route and flee from the monster that perused them.

The blond ninja slowly walked towards Hinata. He looked defeated and anyone who knew him could see how much he already missed the Hyuuga princess. He knelt down by her head and slowly closed her eyes. She looked peaceful had her crimson blood not contrasted so much with her pale skin. One of Naruto's tears fell onto her cheek as he recalled the exact moment from Peins attack. 'Yes, know pain… do you hate me now?' The words rang through Naruto's head and his anger built up. Anger that could even rival Kurama's rage. He turned to Fukushi who was scrambling away from the nine-tails as this was the first time he experienced something so, awesome, terrifying. Naruto's eyes glared at the one-eyed shinobi as if he could change them to red without Kurama's chakra.

"Get up you coward!" Naruto demanded with venom in his words.


	24. Chapter XXIII

**Ah finally got around to posting a new chapter. Had a bit of writers block but I think I've figured out what to write about. Going for longer chapters also slows things down as I only really spot ways to improve my story after I've posted.**

 **Thanks for Arthur Sontill for spotting a plot hole, I'll be dealing with it in the upcoming hours (either today or tomorrow, depends on how fast I edit this)**

 **I've actually had a good idea for another fiction but as much as it pains me I have to hold my fingers still. I have agreed to myself to not bite off more than I can chew and write one story at a time. It was going to be one of those same characters different situations (most males got killed through social cleansing)**

 **Anyway, please continue to support my story. I am still enjoying it myself and eager to write more just it takes time and energy.**

"Fuku? Fuku get up!" Monica was by his side and kneeling by the downed shinobi. She was shaking him and trying to snap him out of the trance. "Fuku we need to go!" No good. His ears were ringing and he felt small, insignificant to the rage personified. Each attack started with screams, explosions then silence. Over and over, again and again. Fires which Fukushi only recognised as fires of his homeland seven years ago. He felt defeated, he had no idea how outclassed he was until now until what he saw."Come on, Naruto is coming, please." She pleaded from the futile attempts. The rogue ninja would have continued had Naruto not gotten in range for his wind jutsu and propelled her away. She sailed through the air with a scream and landed hard on her head. Naruto immediately crossed his fingers into a 'plus' sign and two clones of himself appeared in a puff of smoke. The two clones immediately jumped after Monica who was getting up and trying to steady herself. Her wound on the head caused a small stream of blood to run down her forehead and cheek, dripping off her chin. She struggled to focus as she saw six Naruto's approaching, two real and four blurred images.

The scream of someone he held close to him. He hated to admit it but it sounded so familiar, going back to that time when he died once before. Yes, it was Aya, she screamed just like that. It was the sound of pain, total pain. Followed by the sickly feeling of guilt, he felt powerless.

"- _Is this really going to be your grave? Fuku keep going, you can still salvage the situation. Get up, don't let our family's name fall. Don't waste this opportunity I gave my life for.-"_ Fukushi heard those words and blinked out of his trance. 'hn forgive me.' He thought to himself. He finally acknowledged Naruto who was now standing above him with a kunai poised to strike. Fukushi grasped at his fathers' sword and pushed him away from the blond shinobi. He looked dead in his eyes, nothing but killer intent and a glare that had no other target than the one-eyed shinobi. 'Three seals of chakra left. I have to do this.' Fukushi's first move was throwing several summoned kunai. Flicking one after another as fast as his throwing arm would allow. Each had eerie accuracy on the oncoming opponent but each time Naruto swatted the kunai out of the way with his own. Yellow bolts of electricity were clearly crackling through his body but the shinobi seemed to ignore the pain completely and never slowed any signs of faltering. Second move, Fukushi lunged forward, using wind chakra in his feet to close the distance instantaneously, he aimed to slice Naruto's abdomen but instead collided blade on blade to Sasukes' own sword in his right hand and over his shoulder. The Uchiha's left fist spun and landed a heavy punch straight into Fukushi's stomach, too fast to react in time. That punch felt different, where normally it would be a dull ache instead it was a sharp pain over his chakra seals. Fukushi teleported some distance away to prevent Sasuke from dealing any more blows to him.

"He managed to take out half a days' worth of chakra in one punch?" He murmured to himself. Noticing Sasuke's left eye was not the red he grew accustomed to but instead a pale violet with many rings radiating from the pupil. He quickly identified his next target, the pink-haired shinobi called Sakura. She had also joined in the battle and already send a large chunk of earth flying at him. Third move, Fukushi teleported behind her but Sasuke again was expecting this move and immediately casted a genjutsu. The Solaris family member dropped his katana out of sudden pain shooting through his right flank. He could barely keep conscious under the sheer intensity of the Sharingan. Also the recoil of the genjutsu of this intensity must have hit Sasuke just as hard.

Fukushi opened his eye and appeared to be in a dark room. No, a dark arena, the floor was covered in dirt and large flood light shin directly at him from all angles so while his immediate surroundings were crystal clear, the walls were pitch black and thus creating the illusion of a limitless void. He was clutching his left eye and with his right eye he could see blood pouring freely onto the floor. His sword was still clean though as he had badly misjudged the attack. Cheering and some booing were echoing around him as he bit back the pain. The ground broke under him and catapulted him into the air. He turned just in time to see a huge man punch with all his might into his chest. Breaking at least four ribs in the blow and launching him across the arena. He opened his eye once more and was snatched out of the air by Naruto and smashed into the ground, creating a small crater around the beaten body. Naruto stood over him and extended a rasengan into his right palm and looked at the struggling shinobi trying to get out but had all the wind knocked out of him. The blond had darkened blue eyes and void of the cheerful joy that he was renowned for.

"Tell me, why did she have to die." Naruto spoke coldly.

Fukushi coughed and spluttered. "Do you think I wanted this." He looked up at his opponent. "This isn't what I wanted, I only wanted to protect my book! Not any of, this."

"Your book? People have died! Don't give me that crap! no one is worth less than some object." Naruto lunged down with his rasengan.

"It's all I have! Last part of my family, my history, my home!" Fukushi called out suddenly fearful for his life that before to this point he was content with letting it go. Naruto stopped momentarily.

"And what about my family? The families of those you killed? Their history, My history! What gives you the right to decide their fates!"

"I… er…" Fukushi looked away. "I was wrong. I'm lost."

"Hinata is gone because of you… I.. I never told her how I felt, what she meant to me." Tears where starting to fall from Naruto's eyes as he could feel a large part of him was now missing. "Now you are telling me that you were clumsy. she _died_ because you weren't paying attention?" He bit his lip in pain and moved to strike Fukushi with his rasengan. Raising his hand high into the air, palm flat and all his strength he thrusted down.

"Naruto!" Sasuke called, he had to say something and try and stop his teammate from doing something regretful. Killing Fukushi would only bring more pain to Naruto. "Stop this isn't what Hinata would have wanted! Think about it. It wasn't his fault." Sasuke stood by Naruto, his right eye closed out of pain from Fukushi's defence a clear stream of blood had stained his right side, covering most of his body. He held Naruto by the wrist and slowly pulled it away from Fukushi. Who fell back to the ground and sighed heavily.

"I just don't think I can live without her…" Naruto whispered. Words that few could only truly understand.

"Believe it or not, that guy you were about to tear apart knows how you feel." Sasuke spoke, he glanced at the defeated ninja on the floor. "Aya was her name wasn't it. Your soul partner who couldn't live without you and gave her life to save you."

"Are you saying he knows regeneration jutsu?" Naruto looked at Sasuke with the look of desperation and willingness to take his own life for the sake of the Hyuuga.

"Better…" Sasuke gestured at Fukushi's left arm.

"You're cruel Uchiha." Fukushi replied coldly, trying to cover his left arm. He felt another piece of Sasuke's plan was coming together, cruel on so many levels that he was even expecting this kind of situation that only Fukushi could deal with. "Death is one thing but to give him hope?"

"Tell me Fukushi of the Solaris family, what are the rules of soul binding and death."

"No. It's too awful. I couldn't not after Aya!" Fukushi cradled his head as if the thought brought him pain. "It's a cruel jutsu. You could kill both of them!"

"I'll do it… I don't care about the cost." Naruto interrupted. "Just tell me what to do and I'll do it."

"Naruto are you sure?" Sai asked, he had managed to return relatively unharmed but of course he ended up in the cover of trees and so managed to avoid the musket fire during his fight. He had rushed to where he heard the noise and was now a little confused. Fukushi looked defeated, so did Naruto although Sai presumed there were two different reasons. From where he was standing it looked like a deal was being struck but he also knew how stubborn Naruto was so he had to question him for the sake of his old team mate.

"If you save her Fukushi, I'll make sure you can get a good deal with the leaf. We will be in your debt after all. So please, tell us all here the rules of soul binding."

Fukushi slowly stood up, at first wobbly but he soon found his feet. "I'll do it…" He looked down. He had to admit, this was the sort of offer he was hoping to get out of the leaf shinobi. "Although there are no guarantees, Naruto you must understand that cheating death like this has its risks. Even if we manage somehow there are a hundred more issues that you'll need training on."

"What are the rules." Sasuke spoke impatiently, he had heard off Aya's spirit but he wanted to be sure from Fukushi himself.

"Soul binding, it is a way of binding peoples' chakra network so two people become one, literally. It has a side effect of injuries being shared also but because of this death can be reversed as their body is healed sufficiently, providing the dead aren't too damaged and you need immense amount of chakra. I doubt we have enough chakra to pull it off safely though, you risk dying yourself if you can't heal her fully. Normal reanimation jutsus are too inefficient in moving the chakra and healing often guaranteeing the caster to die. Soul binding makes it possible because there are direct chakra connections." Fukushi spoke quietly and slowly, reluctant to share this kind of information.

Naruto silently nodded and took in as much information as he could. Not totally understanding but having enough of a clue to get a sense of the implications of the jutsu.

"If I cast it, I'll also comply to your arrest so long as Monica goes free and her crimes are abolished." Fukushi got a nod off Sasuke, although strings will have to be pulled and Sasuke understood this, being free because of Naruto pulling the same strings. None of them had noticed a certain orange haired woman approach the group.

"H..h..how come she gets to be soul bound but not me?" Monica's voice broke the conversation. She was very bloody and dirty right now having to fight off the Naruto clones, only just managing before they dispelled. "I…I thought i..it would be me… Fuku why isn't it me?" She stumbled as if she was drunk, exhausted from the combat and likely out of chakra. Her grey eyes looked glazed over and it was difficult to tell who she was focusing on.

"Monica what are you saying? This is our chance to get out of this mess!" Fukushi tried to reason with her with his rebouttal.

"They'll j…just take y…y…you away from me…"

"I'm not gonna leave you."

"Ss…s…so we can go?"

"No… I told you, we can't run anymore."

She started to sob as if Fukushi just broke her heart, the others were giving each other nervous looks as even trained shinobi couldn't tell what was going through her mind. Fukushi gave her a questioning look as he himself was unsure how she was going to react. It had been difficult calming her down some of her outbursts but here she was pushed to her limit.

"W...Why are you getting those two s-soul bound but not me? They've hurt us both. How dare they be near you! They don't deserve your family's jutsu!" Fukushi could feel the killing intent building up from Naruto behind him. He had to do something otherwise she will get herself killed.

"Monica! Stop! What good is running? I am tired of fighting. I've been doing nothing but surviving for seven _years_. I have to do this for my family… for Aya… It's the least I could do for her." Fukushi looked down then turned away. Slowly walking towards Hinata to prepare the jutsu. "Please just wait here till I am finished."

"Aya? Whos Aya? No! tell me who is Aya!" She started muttering under her breath. "Get away from him!" Monica leaped forward, a move not unexpected from the group. She targeted Sasuke as he was the closest. Sasuke did not even flinch he just watched the charging woman with her wakizashi by her hip ready to slash upwards once she got into range. However, she never reached Sasuke. Her blade swung and aimed for the Uchiha's neck but instead Fukushi teleported in the way and glared her down. The blade stopped just as it cut lightly into his neck, enough for his blood to run down her blade. She looked down to see Fukushi's blood approaching her hand. Monica dropped the blade as if it was suddenly too hot to hot and broke down onto the floor repeating the word 'sorry' over and over. By rights Fukushi could have killed her but instead he kneeled down and hugged into her.

"Trust me."

Fukushi stood up and took in a deep breath while the leaf shinobi watch how he dealt with someone so twisted. Before anyone could say a word Fukushi started. "For this to work we will need a lot of chakra. Naruto, we can't even start if you don't have enough chakra."

"Don't worry about it… just get it done." He was now kneeling by Hinata who looked like she was peacefully sleeping and could wake up. Fukushi slowly limped over, his body finally catching up to the injuries caused in the conflict.

"You can use my chakra Naruto. As much as you need." A growling voice boomed out loud. A large glowing orange fox with nine tails was sitting by the destruction he just caused. "I owe her that much, and I doubt your jutsu would use up all my chakra." Kurama still did not want to admit he liked the pair but nor could he just sit idly by especially after what Naruto had been through for his sake. "Besides, her death would destroy Naruto as we know him… and I am not sure I'd like that change." Fukushi jumped at a start, he had been concentrating on Naruto and had almost forgotten the beast made of chakra. He quickly assessed the situation and simply nodded. Not wanting to question who was this beast but, to his relief, he did not appear to be aggressive. Had he known about Kurama and Naruto's Jinchuriki status before the ninja war he would have felt nothing but malice and hatred oozing from the fox like a thick sludge that smothers everything. But now here is the legendary biju with his shoulders slumped and tails flat against the ground and looking down at the pair of shinobi, one kneeling next to the other.

"Can you do it? And what about Monica?" Sakura asked. She now approached herself asking cautiously. Her front and arms were coated in blood but she managed to save her injured comrades. First Ino who in turn managed to help her heal others, albeit with difficulty as one arm was too injured to move for now.

"I guess I have no choice, we need to hurry. Naruto do I have your permission to do this?" Naruto nodded. Fukushi shot a look a Sasuke who remained unmoved."You owe me. You knew from the start, didn't you?" Fukushi just made a 'tch noise in response to his lack of response.

"Naruto, I am going to need you to take your top off, and err, Hinata's too." This earned him a dirty look off Sakura and Naruto. "I might accidently mess up if there if fabric in the way and I need to mark the skin, soul binding needs a physical connection too." Naruto begrudgingly agreed and slowly unzipped his orange jacket and proceeded to take off his black undershirt. He sat up Hinata and gulped loudly and with a shaking hand he unzipped Hinata's jacket. His mind was telling him how wrong doing that was but he didn't have a choice. Sasuke was convinced this was better than reanimation, an alternative that Naruto was actually contemplating for her sake. While Naruto was overcoming his own willpower, Fukushi was already setting up other pieces of the jutsu.

"Who is willing to help pool chakra?" The one eyed man called out.

"I need to get help. Shino and choji are badly injured." Kiba called out, now riding Akamaru. No one was sure if he even heard Fukushi calling but he immediately pulled away to head towards Konoha. Ino didn't answer either but it was obvious she was busy trying to stop the bleeding on Shino. Sakura looked at Naruto and back at Fukushi. She hesitated.

"Sakura, go and save the others." Sasuke answered for her. He could easily read the dilemma going through the pink haired medic but he felt there was enough chakra between them already.

Lee knew he did not have enough chakra to spare and nodded at Sasuke who also got the message. By Lee's feet were a few prisoners of Rogue shinobi who weren't killed by the leaf but instead surrendered once their will broke. Around the time the blue ninja were beginning to die themselves under the jonin's onslaught. Tenten was also helping Lee keep an eye on the prisoners, besides she looked exhausted and badly beaten up. Just not to the extent of her comrades. This left Sai who just politely stood and watched. Fukushi meanwhile was summoning kunai and burying them into the ground. Ten in total. Six were positioned evenly spaced in a circle around Hinata while four more were positioned further out and off to the left and right sides. For now nothing happened and Fukushi began clearing the space, with the help of Sasuke and Sai who silently took the initiative. Fukushi even picked up Monica who appeared dead to the world. She was both physically and mentally exhausted about the supposed defeat. He took him to the tree line and rested her down against the trunk.

Fukushi walked over to Naruto. He hardly spoke a word to each other but Naruto was silent as the grave just looking at Hinata's beautiful face. Fukushi quickly thumbed through some hand signed and muttered his summoning. The book, the first time Sasuke or Naruto, and Sai for that matter had seen the actual scripts in its glory. Or fall from glory, the book looked faded and tattered with a couple of cuts across its binding. The lines that were part of a fuuinjutsu were pitch black and as dark as the day they were created. While the rest of the ink, the dark sun emblem was a faded green by now as the black ink had leeched away. Fukushi opened the book at a seemingly random page and rested it by the ground next to the couple. The Solaris ninja flicked his left wrist and his fore and middle finger glowed a bright yellow. He checked the book one last time, the language only known to him. Although he did not know about the sharingans ability to understand all language. Sasuke was glancing over his shoulder and reading the scripts intensely. Fukushi meanwhile slowly held Naruto's left arm.

"I'll start with you, it'll sting, just so you know." Fukushi whispered at Naruto, slow and steady and not wanting to offend the blonde who he acknowledged as superior by now. The leaf remained silent but made no attempt to resist Fukushi. He did not even break eye contact with the Hyuuga while his arm burned and hissed under the fuuinjutsu. The patterns seemed to be unwinding themselves Fukushi touched the bare skin. Like a plant growing rapidly from seed to flow and blooming a glowing yellow before dying down and cooling to a permanent black. Slow minutes ticked by and Fukushi was finished with Naruto, who had a matching tattoo to the one-eyed shinobi, save for one detail around where the heart should be. A thumb print, surrounded by a word. If Naruto could read Fukushi's language he'd realise it looked almost exactly like a summoning contract. Without pausing Fukushi shifted to beside Hinata, where most men would have gawked at the beautiful body of the Hyuuga princess. Fukushi managed to keep a straight face, partly as to not offend Naruto but also the numbing effects of a hard life. In short Fukushi did not care that he was handling a half-naked woman. Yellow lines swirled around Hinata's left arm and chest just as they did with Naruto and then faded into black.

"Naruto, hold her hand, left on left. When I call for it, your thumb print and name in the circle in your blood." He gestured to the circle which was more or less in the middle of Hinata's chest, if slightly on her left breast. Naruto gulped as he stared a little longer than he should have. "Don't let go of her arm and don't go outside the circle. I'll step in and help her write her name on you. Otherwise it would be an incomplete soul binding." Naruto nodded in response and whipped away his tears which had now stained his cheeks. Fukushi stood up and looked around. "Where is that, err fox?"

"I've resided back into my host; Figured I'd be better at providing my chakra in here." A darker voice, clearly not Naruto's echoed from his body. Fukushi blinked in surprise as he was not expecting the creature to be able to talk. He took a deep breath; the fox was a question for another time and he was helping so he glanced around. Two more able bodies. Fukushi sighed he doubted that the jutsu would work as he had no inkling of the amount of chakra both Sasuke and Naruto both possessed. Although he had worked out it was far more than what he had, even with seals. He ran the risk of being blamed for the death of not only Hinata but Naruto too. However, what choice did he have? He was surrounded by superior ninja and had already depleted most of his chakra, not to mention Monica's.

"Sasuke and err…"

"Sai"

"Sai could you stand behind that Kunai and the other kunai." He pointed to two kunai opposite each other. "Once I start you are not to move, disrupting the jutsu would probably kill yourself and these two."

Fukushi took a deep breath and stood in front of Hinata and Naruto. He slowly raised his hands and closed his eyes, remembering his training which happened oh so long ago. He was taught perfection day in and day out, being necessary for the soul binding. He remembered how it felt like years of his life on that one jutsu. How to cast it, how to maintain a healthy bond, how to use the bond to its full advantages, mental stability, physical stability, more seal training. In short for the duration of his younger life the soul binding was all he knew. He moved his handed, each a different sign, one after another. Some the surrounding shinobi would recognise and others were of a new design, to further refine the chakra flow. Once Fukushi had begun the jutsu, the kunai glowed a bright yellow, matching his chakra. Lines flowed like water from each kunai. Spreading around in intricate ways. The world was silent. Cut only by Fukushi quietly muttering each sign, reciting the long jutsu. The lines seemed to spiral towards the couple in the middle and as soon as their bodies were touched their arms began to glow again.

Naruto gazed around in wonder, aside from the situation the patterns were almost beautiful. Filling in spaces with words lines and dots, circles and various shapes leading off this direction and that direction. The general flow heading to the blonde himself, kneeling by his love. He understood how he felt now, at least how he thinks he should feel. He was willing to sacrifice everything for her just as she was willing to sacrifice everything for him. It was a concept he understood well just couldn't relate until very recently. He understood what it meant to be a friend and show affection like that but to him, Hinata was something special and unique, something no one else could ever replace. He was kneeling and looking straight at her face when he began to feel something off. At first it felt like a sickly warm glow at the base of his skull. But the heat quickly spread across his whole body, especially his arm, and his throat. Panic from an unknown source built up as the air slowly as he felt like he was suffocating. Naruto felt like he was going to pass out before long, the world began to swirl as a feeling familiar to Naruto started to seep in. He could feel the nature chakra of the surrounding world. Swirling around the seal and through his arm. The ground pulsed and heaved under them as if some godly power was being bestowed on them. Fukushi kept up with one sign after another, energy spiralling towards the epicentre. Everyone kept a straight face but could already feel the draining effects. The last thing Naruto saw was a pale blue chakra covering Hinata's wounds before the world bleached into a colourless void.

"Hello? Is anyone there? Where am i?" Hinata called out. Her body felt hot but the air around her was ice cold. She had been walking in this void in no particular direction for what seemed days now. Nothing was here, nothing for miles in any direction and probably nothing yet further. Hinata felt like giving up and even before she gave the order to her body, she fell to the floor and cuddled her knees up close.

"I guess this is it… This is death…" She muttered gloomly to herself. Tears of defeat started to fall down her. "I never got the chance to confess to him. Wish I wasn't so shy. I had so many opportunities. Too late now." She muttered. Right now, she would give anything for one more day, hell one more hour with him. She was doing so well and ended up getting closer and closer to her goal. For two years the missions for a shinobi were not so hazardous and even herself began to believe that the risk of death was now none existent. How wrong she was and now she was paying for her hubris. He laid herself down and stared into the void. Picturing Naruto's smile, as he looked over at her to make sure she was doing alright during the missions they have together. She could even hear his voice, how strong and caring it was but never without joy and happiness. Wait, she actually could hear him. Someone that sounded like Naruto was calling from somewhere in the void. Hinata wanted to call out but realised her body hardly moved, her arms were now almost as pale as the floor itself. She felt weak now and could hardly speak louder than a whisper. A murmur, her presence no more than that of smoke. It was as if the void, nothingness itself, was swallowing her whole and to never again exist. She tried with all her might to move one arm. Painfully slowly as if she was in slow motion. What if she hadn't of moved, what would have happened to her if the void took her? She was scared but at the same time comforted. She was warm and comfortable at least, laying here on the surface as there was no need to move forward. More importantly she was tired. How long had it been since she just closed her eyes?

A jolt woke her from her day dream. She managed to angle her head to see who it was. She smiled weakly up at the blond shinobi who gently picked her up and off the floor. Her body protested from being moved, as if forced from a comfortable bed early in the morning. But she realised something, she preferred being by Naruto than anything else in the world and nothing would stop her. As she was about to find out, not even death could have stopped her. Hinata was in a state of euphoria her senses were dulled to the point she almost forgot who was holding her. She looked again, still Naruto. She did not question how or if this was real, if it was not for his bright yellow hair or his piercing blue eyes she would have probably mistook for a ghost, an additional part of the void. She was safe and sound in his arms and her eyes were finally able to close. It had felt like she was awake for days now.


	25. Chapter XXIV

**Ah another chapter, another day, I probably should be spending more time on this that I am already but at least I won't be stopping anytime soon. Finally out of writers block so the only excuse is procrastination.**

 **Another thought I had while writing/reading these fan fictions. Is why Naruto is always over powered as a 'godlike' character, I understand the fantasy but for me personally I find that much power a little dull. There is no challenge in the story if Naruto is able to overcome everything immediately and especially since his whole premise is his struggles. I've been pushing my character as a Naruto who has reached his goal of recognition but still has so much more to learn and control, hence why I had him dislike Fukushi who is seen as causing a divide in the alliance he had built (although I want to tweak earlier chapters still). But disliking new people is something of a trait in Naruto anyway, and he builds up friendship with many characters throughout the Anime. Again as more of the same motif of building something from nothing. Anyway mini rant over, just reasoning why I don't like overpowered or 'perfect' characters. Good characters are not perfect, great characters show you exactly how grey morality is (think of Itachi).**

 **Please continue support, favourite, follow, comment. Usual stuff. Next chapter already on the way but I have a lot of work coming up soon so watch the skies.**

Pain, an uncomfortable feeling, a signal that your own body processes to tell the brain that something was wrong. A very real feeling, which proved that you were capable to understand that something was wrong. Since Hinata had fallen asleep and allowed darkness to take a hold of her in sweet sleep she had begun to ache all over. The pain built up until she could no longer ignore it and so she opened her eyes. Unexpectedly, she saw that she was in Naruto's room, she could tell by the orange duvet and across the room stood a photo of team seven. The air wasn't as dusty as she remembered as Naruto had begun to keep his apartment in better condition; a mix of visitors becoming more common and he himself becoming more mature. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Upon opening them she realised she was no longer in Naruto's apartment but instead in hospital. The smell of ramen lingered for a few seconds before succumbing to the smell of sterilisation that the hospital brought. She looked around. The Hyuuga was laying in one of the smaller medical rooms which only consisted of two beds, a pale green curtain separated her from the other bed. On her side of the room she had the window which looked out to a very dim day, rain clouds were overcast and threatened to soak everything at any moment. She rubbed her left arm which had begun to burn somewhat, a low burn, enough to irritate and that is when she noticed that she was covered in bandages. In fact, many parts of her body were covered up, she had not remembered being this badly injured in a long time. Certainly not since the chunin exams. The raven-haired shinobi slowly began to push herself up. While she was aching all over it was no longer prohibiting her movement, she wriggled until she was in a comfortable position until she could hear voices to be exact they were her Father, Hiashi, and her friend, Sakura. She could tell by the fragrant cherry shampoo that Sakura was renowned to use and even her Father had the smell of home, tea and the flowers in their many gardens in the Hyuuga compound. Wait she could tell by their smell? Now Hinata was really confused, her specialties were in sight not smell. 'Nevermind' She thought to herself as she did not have time to pursue her new-found curiosity. The pair came into the room and appeared past the certain, Hiashi sighing in relief until he noticed something and gave a sharp gasp. Hinata gave him a questioning look, she had no idea why he looked shocked all of a sudden.

Meanwhile in what Fukushi surmised as a prison cell. He had just woken up and realised his hands were bound and a blindfold was covering his last remaining eye. Shifting slightly, he realised we was not prevented from moving and so sat up into a more comfortable position. He was able to work out presumably more seals as a paper like material covered his chakra stores on his right flank. The Solaris survivor had no idea how long he was passed out for. The Jutsu had depleted his chakra to almost lethal levels but he was able to keep conscious long enough to make sure Sasuke would maintain his end of the deal. Heal his friend and he will help protect Fukushi, and importantly to Fukushi, Monica. He knew how bitter the village was about her abandonment but Sasuke reassured him that he was sympathetic to her reasons, as crazy as she was. He took a deep breath though his nose and out slowly through his mouth, Fukushi thought it was a good time to meditate, to calm himself and gather his thoughts. He closed his eyes even though there was a blindfold and regulated his breathing into a slow and shallow rate, he saw nothing, he heard nothing and just concentrated on a single shape in his mind. It stood like a stylised sun, a hollow circle with sixteen rays radiating out. The symbol of his family, a shape he still found comforting even though it was in his mind. He calmed down and started to imagine other senses. Such as the quiet warmth of the sun and a slight breeze, enough to rustle his clothes slightly. Time surely passed although now Fukushi was utterly lost yet still collected within himself.

By the time Fukushi finished his meditation someone entered. He sat in an unthreatening manor with his hands on his knees and 'looking' straight at the wall opposit and listened intently to whoever had entered. The person sat down opposite Fukushi and appeared to close a book and hide it away into one of his pouches. A short silence fell between the two before the Man spoke.

"Sasuke could you remove the binds, if he is indeed telling the truth. he wouldn't do anything." Sasuke complied, his presence had been kept unknown until he had removed the blindfold. The man in front of him was in his standard shinobi gear, dark blue pants and top. Wearing a mask of the same material and colour. Fukushi also noticed the left scar that looked similar to one of the two scars he had on his face. A dark line starting from his cheak and cutting up past his left eye and to his forehead, yet the man was lucky enough to maintain his sight, although Fukushi had not known about the man's previous reputation. Other notable features of his clothing were the kanji for Hokage written on his flak jacket. In addition to additional pieces of armour such as wrist guards, shoulder plates and greaves. In Short, the man was more decorated than the standard shinobi to help identify him out from the battlefield. Attire aside the man also had long spikes up hair and a very neutral expression on his face.

"I'm Kakashi Hatake, Hokage of the Leaf and you've met Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke gave a nod. "I'll be asking you questions about who you are and this whole… situation."

"I'm Fukushi of the Solaris Family." He spoke politely as he knew who a hokage was within the society. He was speaking to one of the great five leaders of the eastern world.

"Solaris? Is that your clan name?"

"Clan? No it's closer to your village, we are all related by name but not by blood."

"Where were the Solaris from, and I am somewhat curious about your history."

"Far west, one of the eight major families and so called because the city was founded during a solar eclipse facing out into the western ocean. For the short answer"

Kakashi nodded, he was grateful that he hadn't gotten the long edition as he had other questions to ask.

"Why have you come to us."

"Two reasons and Sasuke is to thank for them. First he reminded me of my duty as the last survivor to rebuild my name and not destroy it as I had been." Fukushi sighed and glanced away. "I was wrong to hope I could pass through and to never been known but now I'm older I realised that a name was only as good as long as people knew it. When I found out Aya's soul was still within me I could not cope with the reality that I was just running and to hell with consequences. As for the second reason, I knew the people who attacked you, more specifically attacking me but your leaf shinobi joined into the combat."

"Go on…" 'This could be very valuable information.' Kakashi thought, Sasuke was right to try and bring him in rather than prosecute him immediately. Which if he was honest, Iwa was seriously wanting him to pay for his actions, and for good reason. The man before Kakashi had managed to break into Iwa's secret records and escape with several personal killed or injured.

"They were members of the Lapis family, recently, around twenty or so years ago. Before I was born they had invented a weapon that even civilians could use to great effect. Required no chakra and could fire a projectile faster than most if not all shinobi could dodge. This resulted in a shift in power that ultimately destroyed my family and took the crown off the previous king. I was too young to understand the full depth of politics back then though. However, it is these people that is why I am here seeking your council. If they are here, then I have no chance by myself" Fukushi did something he thought he would never do out of old pride and honour, he threw himself at Kakashi's feet and bowed low to the floor, he had his eyes tightly shut and his voice wavered slightly." I know I have done horrific things and I am not here to beg for forgiveness, but I wish to secure my families book of jutsu here in Konoah. You are better able to protect it, as I have nearly failed to do so a few times to my enemies. It is the last memento of my family I have, that and my sword. But because of the power written within, the Lapis family cannot use it for they will just accelerate their lust for domination and power."

A silence flooded back into the room, Kakashi was surprised about the outburst. He had almost forgot that the boy was younger than Naruto and presumably struggling alone just as Sasuke had done. He had been expecting a deal to be struck but not to be entrusted with something Fukushi was clearly willing to kill over.

"That was not what I was expecting." Kakashi finally spoke. "We are able to protect the book in question but I have a few conditions."

"Name them for I have but one additional ask of you." The one-eyed shinobi did not move from his bowed position.

"You first, and we will see if it matches with our agenda."

"You… You write off Monica's crimes, she was only wanting to improve herself and at the time I had no idea about the severity of abandonment, I warned her that I was going to kill but she still followed. Don't blame her."

Kakashi was taken aback for a second time, he was using his bargaining chip as a part of a selfless deed. From what he heard he thought Fukushi as someone with evil plans, to fit right into the likes of a Akatsuki. Not someone who honestly probably had no idea what he was supposed to be doing.

"That I can do, but I have conditions of my own…" He paused for a moment and even Sasuke leaned in slightly to make sure he hears what the Hokage has to say. "You are to settle in Konoha as a citizen of our village."

It was Fukushi's turn to look up at the grey-haired man in shock. "But aren't I a criminal?"

"Technically not to Konoha, you only committed crimes in the land of stone. But here; you have not killed any of our ninja and in fact you were able to prevent one from death. Monica on the other hand has, it'll be difficult to do as you ask considering she is from a civilian clan. and not a prestigious one either."

"There are options such as adoption, if you take my traditions and seeing as I am the head of my family now..." Fukushi mumbled the last sentence but Kakashi still managed to understand what the bowing shinobi said.

Although it will not be that simple. In the meantime you are to train Naruto and Hinata. From what Sasuke told me, soul binding has a lot of risks."

"I was expecting to teach them, Naruto will have to be considerate considering the amount of chakra he throws about in combat." The one-eyed ninja muttered in agreement. "I would have asked to teach them as a misused soul binding can easily kill both of them."

"Furthermore, you are not permitted to leave the village and will have ANBU guards for a probation period to make sure your word is as good as you make it out to be. Are we clear?"

"Not like I have anywhere to go. I accept your terms, I will become a citizen of Konoha providing I keep my name and status as head of my family. And I will provide my services to teach anyone you wish to put under me."

"You may keep your name. We will gladly protect your family secrets and protect Monica from her crimes."

"Thank you, Lord Hokage, Monica is not a bad person, she just needs someone there for her."

Kakashi's eyes closed and from what anyone could see of his face, he seemed to be smiling under his mask despite not being too fond of the lord title. "I hope you are a great asset to our village, you seem to be very strong with your ninjutsu and fuuinjutsu so I'd like to see it personally, once we let you out of course. For now, we will wait for everyone to recover. I need to leave for a couple days but I am sure Sasuke will push you in the right way. He seems keen on pulling you to our side." Kakashi stood up and stretched a little, just as he faced Sasuke who remained silent during the deal made between the Hokage and the Solaris shinobi. A knock was heard on the prison door, not a polite knock but one of urgent demand.

"Lord Hokage I need to speak with you! Is _he_ awake yet?" The voice was aggressive and the way he stressed 'he' suggested that the man had some quarrel to settle. Sasuke moved to open the door but no sooner the knob was turned, the door burst open. The man in question was tall, wearing a white komono with a black hakama. His face had two notable features, two ice cold white eyes and within them Fukushi could see the promise of untold fury and around his face were veins bulging from the chakra pumped through them. He spoke with venom in his voice. "I demand to know what that boy did to my daughter!"

"In this instance I suppose it would be better if I tell you, Lord Hiashi." Sasuke interrupted, it felt as if the man was playing with fire. Hiashi shot him a look before uncharacteristically frowned.

"Fine, Hinata's awake." He turned to leave back for the hospital. Leaving the three of them alone once more.

"Kakashi, Sensei, I'll take Fukushi with me."

Fukushi calmly walked out behind Sasuke and Kakashi. The cell turned out to be at the bottom of a corridor of cells, most were empty though. The ones filled held a mix of depressed looking men and women who looked bored out of their entrapment. Fukushi was surprised to learn he was simply in the police station of Konoha as he expected maximum security as he experienced in Iwa. Presumably due to Sasuke able to influence and persuade his friends, who were also influential individuals. Konoha itself looked impressive. Buildings both tall and ornate spread across the horizon and seemingly had gone on forever. The streets were busy and lined with many stalls, cafes, artworks, signs and shop fronts. The place was even built up well enough to have raised paths and bridges, allowing access to upper levels of the city. People often regarded Konoha as one of the great villages but 'village' could never fully describe the scale witnessed by Fukushi. Upon walking behind the Sasuke, he noticed that once you got your eye in that there were numerous parks and keeping in with the leaf theme. Large walkways often lined themselves with trees. All in all, the place seemed alive, a sense of motivation that a person could arrive and really make something of himself here. The party walked on until they found themselves at the cross roads. Here Kakashi left to head somewhere else that Fukushi did not know about. The Hokage simply said his goodbyes to Hiashi and Sasuke and gave Fukushi a trusting nod. While he was lead down another large avenue under bridges and past shops, parks, and apartments. Fukushi was thinking how he was able to come to an agreement. He had limited knowledge of the politics in the area but as far as he gathered the villages seemed to work autonomously. To which he had not actually committed any crimes in the land of fire. The few people he killed recently were either bounty hunters or criminals themselves. Most of the conflict between him and Naruto lead to Naruto causing most of collateral rather than the Solaris himself. Fukushi could feel the amount of chakra he could push out and appeared to have three forms of combat. First was his normal form which involved a lot of clones, kunai, teleporting, and resengans. Second form seemed to ditch the sheer number of clones in favour of much more powerful and faster meele. While his final form that donned and orange cloak of pure chakra… Naruto was simply powerful, physical attacks could not harm him as well. Made evident when Fukushi witnessed the fact he was shot more than most people yet still was able to stand. He came to the conclusion that even if he wanted to, he doubted that himself or Monica could get far enough way before being dragged back by the blond shinobi… Or Sasuke. The Uchiha was infinitely more diverse and Fukushi doubted he had seen the full extent of powers that the Uchiha possessed. He was very fast and showed unique fire jutsu along with a powerful dojutsu, he also seemed to be constantly plotting out his next move so if his mere will alone could change some ones' fate. Which was partly true considering the long-term effects of the Sharingan on Fukushi's mental stability.

The group were now approaching another impressive looking building which rose to seven stories and had an 'E' shape to it. Small courtyards inbetween each wing held some gardens to which Fukushi has a light vantage point to see several people in light blue gowns walking around and getting fresh air before the rain began. Hiashi lead them through the main entrance which in itself was an impressive way into the hospital. A glass from with wide six/panel doors which were pushed open to allow visitors into a large two-story reception. In front of the stairs opposite the door was a receptionist busy on the phone while sorting out various documents. The room was not crowded but still had a few bored looking patients who gave a momentary glance at the newcomers before gazing off into the distance or looking down to whatever they were reading. On the second story, there stood a balcony that overlooked the reception and both floors had many doors leading off to various rooms and corridors. Sitting on the reception desk and looking rather out of place with her bright pink hair was Sakura, she was looking over some notes on a board. She could sense people approaching and so looked up. She clearly smiled at Sasuke for a brief moment before she noticed the other two people by him and returned her a face of neutrality.

"I see you brought him with you. I was going to need him to explain what's wrong with Naruto, he is not injured but his chakra is still depleted and is not returning almost at all."

"Hmph so he's done something to Naruto too…" Hiashi added, able to keep a straight face this time. He accepted the boy but he was still far from family to him.

"Alright, Sakura you may aswell come with us. It's likely he is able to explain everything." Sakura knew they were soul bound but because she was treating Shino and Choji who were still in serious condition she had not witnessed the details of the binding or what Sasuke had done to help cover up the fact Fukushi had casted anything on two famous shinobi. Only Sasuke and Kakashi knew that current Sasuke had a genjutsu placed on both shinobi to hide the marking of the fuuinjutsu. Although doing something like this may backfire, for example, Hiashi's reaction to Hinata waking up. Sasuke felt that this would allow time for the pair instead of being bombarded with questions from both public and council alike. They all needed to recover not become guinea pigs. Sakura glanced about the party and nodded, she dropped off from the table and drew herself up next to Sasuke as they walked up the stairs. Up four flights of stairs then they took a left and down a corridor, now in the far wing of the hospital they slowly entered a small room which had two beds. Both were occupied by a sitting and alert Hyuuga and a sleeping Uzimaki.

Fukushi the group walked to Hinata who was sitting upright with her hands placed on her lap. She was looking out of the window until everyone was present. She calmly turned around and suddenly Sasuke and Fukushi noticed why Hiashi was suddenly suspicious. Her eyes were no longer crystal white but while she kept her pupils a clear icy white like fresh snow, they were now rimmed with an emerald blue iris which quickly blended into ice blue then into the aforementioned white. Her hair was no longer raven blue-black but instead as the girl moved it appeared to conceal streaks of fine yellow-gold strands. It made her hair appear as if it was wild with each lock now defined compared to her previous neat and straight hair.

"Sakura? Why is _he_ here?" She spoke calmly as if she had not noticed it herself. He was gesturing to the one-eyed man standing in the room, he was clearly eyeing up the hyuuga. While her father opened his mouth to speak. "I'd fine father, I checked, I still have the byakugan. Although I don't know why my eyes have changed but I like my new hair… reminds me of Kurenai." She spoke with a little more confidence than she intended and immediately blushed. It was Hinata without a doubt.

"Before we all get an explaination, there is more, and I am going to break the genjutsu I had casted." Sasuke spoke calmly although to both the Hyuugas and Sakura were taken aback.

"What do you mean more Sasuke?" Hiashi spoke, he now looked like he was about to explode in rage. His lifelong training in composure was now long gone. Sasuke let off a short smile before he placed his right hand in front of his face and called out 'release'. Both Hinata's and Naruto's left arm shimmered briefly before revealing blackened lines coating their arms much life Fukushi had on his own arm. Only difference being neither has chakra burns on their hand.

"What… the… what is the meaning of this. What did you do to her _boy_!" He lunged out at Fukushi and gripped him hard on his shirt and pulled him face to face with the activated Byakugan. "I'm going to make your death painful!" He spat out.

"Lord Hyuuga, I am going to be frank for Fukushi's sake. Hinata here was killed in action three days ago." Sasuke betrayed no emotion while Hiashi dropped Fukushi and took a step back in utter shock. He looked to Sasuke then to Hinata and connected the dots… what the Uchiha said could not be true.

"He persuaded me and Naruto volunteered." Fukushi spoke quietly, he looked away, not wanting to witness the mans' fury. "I performed a soul binding jutsu… and it saved the girl…"

"S-s-soul bound t-t-to N-Naruto?" Hinata whispered into the group. She was just as surprised as no one had told her she was dead. Confirmed by Sakura and Sasuke both nodding.

"But doesn't reanimation cost a life?" Sakura added, she looked over her shoulder to Naruto as if to say 'then how is he still alive'.

"It's a loophole in the jutsu which allows for the injured member to be healed, can reverse death but it takes an insane amount of chakra. I am honestly surprised he is not in emergency support. He is providing chakra for two people right now." Fukushi replied as if he understood what Sakura asked.

"I-I'm causing Naruto's suffering… please… I don't want him to suffer… I was meant to die… please help him!" Hinata stood to get up but the surge of dizziness pushed her back to the bed. Briefly she felt like she was punched by a group of kids all calling her a monster for some reason. She came back to reality and held her temples with her thumb and forefinger. "What's happening to me…" She was supposed to say it in her own mind but she spoke out loud by accident, even though it was apparent she was not in good condition.

"Hinata, if it wasn't for Fukushi, Naruto would have done the reanimation jutsu just to bring you back. He was well aware of the risks. I made sure no one was careless." Sasuke admitted, he did not want Hinata to do something stupid. Yes, he had confidence in her logic but when it came to Naruto she was willing to do anything. Why the blond idiot never noticed how she felt towards him the Uchiha had no clue.

"Although I don't understand the particulars." 'and not sure I particually want to know.' Hiashi thought to himself, finally out of his stupor. "Am I to be correct that Naruto has to be with Hinata?" He got a hopeful look of his daughter which was the final push he needed to finally accept the Uzimaki. "I guess I better tell the elders about this. Once you are discharged Hinata, could you please tell me all you've learned. Unless ordered otherwise of course." The Hyuuga head took his leave and left the room, still massaging his temples as he hadn't planned on their relationship to take a more… intimate turn at least not so soon. Running through his mind were the two words 'soul' and 'bind' which as he understood were very explicit in their definition. Their very being were now entwined with each other in more meaningful ways than experienced by anyone he knew. Hiashi relaxed somewhat over the next thought, Hinata was still alive at least, Neji's death two years ago had really hit him hard although he never confided in anyone about it.

"Is it ok if I speak freely?" Fukushi was the first to speak once the elder man had left them. After he got their attention, he continued. "Did you do anything else to the bound couple? I am surprised she is making coherent speak especially at her age when the jutsu was performed."

Sakura picked up that there was a symptom that was supposed to be apparent first. She frowned and looked over her notes once more. "No Hinata has not had any episodes, why?"

"The main reason it is performed on young children is there are less memories to catch up on, these two now having full access to each other's minds."

"I-I have had a few images where I thought I was somewhere else." Hinata admitted.

"Still not what I was expecting, it's a weird sensation but it should be almost as if you're reliving Naruto's life, some partners have it bad and are out of commission for weeks although you might be relatively lucky. Even so, not the mild extent you are experiencing." This made the room quiet as suddenly Hinata blushed furiously as she realised that Naruto is probably experiencing her own memories.

"Indeed, Kurama, you can stop now, turns out this is probably inevitable." Sasuke spoke out as if there was another person by Naruto. In turn a voice spoke out, it had no body but sounded like it came from Naruto himself.

"Finally." The voice called out, although instead of the regular prideful noise he made it was tired, as if he had done several of Gai's workouts in a row. "That jutsu… damn it was hard to supress."

"you were supressing it?" Fukushi sounded more surprised he managed a feat like that. "No one has ever managed to block a bound couple from each other…" Fukushi almost shuddered at the thought about how much chakra is had access to. Hinata on the other hand was reacting differently, the moment Kurama had stopped interfering with the seals she felt total despair. Her calm nature almost immediately broke into depression. Cuddling herself into ball and tried to block out the world out of her. Eyes shut and sound ignored to the best of her ability, occasionally mumbling something.

"Hey, Solaris brat, am I supposed to know what Hinata is thinking right now too?"

"If you share Naruto's conscious then yes."

"By extension does she know about my thoughts…"

"Yeah, she will do. Although it'll be through Naruto"

"Damn… she'll… never mind." Kurama decided to stop talking altogether, he could read what she was thinking about. Naruto's past and specifically before he joined the academy as a young child. The loneliness, the pain, the rage, feelings that Kurama could empathise with as he too was subjected to the same situation only he took the path of revenge and anger oh so long ago. While Naruto was able to fight it and not fall further into despair or worse; walk the same path as Kurama. The biju was well aware at the time… it was what he wanted. To give up meant he could reclaim his freedom. Yet again Naruto was able to satisfy both his anger and his quest for freedom by being allowed to share Naruto's life instead of being imprisoned by it. Kurama realised that for the first time someone might be as close as he was to understanding where Naruto had come from and with only the sheer willpower he had allowed Naruto to reach this far and possibly even further, his ultimate goal. To become Hokage. But still he was concerned that Hinata would succumb to the horrific experiences that Naruto endured.

"Where there any events that were traumatic to him?" Fukushi asked, he picked up on the clues in Kurama's voice. He received two worried looks from Sakura and Sasuke. Well as much as Sasuke was willing to show.

Sakura answered. "Both Naruto and Sasuke here are the last of their respective clans. This is why Sasuke had been considering your situation similar to his own, as well you are the last of your clan too, if I understand it right?"

Fukushi grimaced at the thought. "I hope she can show equal strength. As with all traumatic experience, different people handle it differently. Another reason it was supposed to be for young couples." He glanced over at Hinata and felt really bad for her despite not knowing the pain Naruto experienced personally. He still knew what it was like to lose someone, a part of his soul and literally speaking if you consider Aya. "Sasuke, I have one request of you personally. I understand you did this to me in order to stop me from taking a darker path. But could you help to help Aya, I recently found out her spirit is still within me and I'd like to help her as I should have done… not push her towards oblivion."

Sasuke nodded and gestured towards the door without saying a word. He glanced and Sakura and smiled slightly at her before leaving. Sakura returned the smile and then looked at Hinata, she stayed to comfort her friend who appeared to be totally lost in thought.

"I'll find you when Naruto wakes up or Hinata feels better." Sakura called out as the two shinobi walked out of the door.


	26. Chapter XXV

**Honestly This was ready two weeks ago. However I had not managed to get the edits done in time to post before I left to do some archaeology. I am back and fresh for more writing which will be good. I am also drawing up plot lines for another fan-fiction. I know I said I didn't want to start a second one until I've finished this one but the ideas for the new story are starting to override this one. So I may get a good chunk of a new story written and then divvy up my time 50/50. Feel free to tell me if this is a bad idea and I should just suck it up and get on with this story.**

 **To whom posted a review: You'll find out. I had considered it already.**

 **To SpicyWifey: (your name is hilarious, can't stop grinning when I read it.) Also I will be focusing on that, as it had been my original idea. But I had to explain EVERYTHING so you could understand. Otherwise the story would feel jumpy. There are a couple Naru/Hina centred chapters I need to revisit to deepen their relationship. Now that I think about it I need to touch up on Fuku/Mon relationship as I feel that could be smoother in earlier chapters.**

 **Usual fire and smoke, keep supporting me, 10k views on my first story. Which is good(?) I am honestly not sure compared to other fictions.**

Kakashi's smile only lasted until he was out of sight. He was summoned to the Diamyo of the Fire Country, an unusual request. Right at this moment he was walking through a small park in between two large apartment buildings when he was joined by two ANBU and Sai. The three specialists jumped down beside Kakashi and silently started to walk by his side in quick succession. Shikamaru was also waiting for the Hokage at the end of the path. He was looking… troubled. His crutches were already annoying him and by rights he should still be in the hospital. Had Kakashi not requested him specifically. Without to seemingly notice the three retinue of ANBU at his side, the Hokage walked until he was by the injured jonins side.

"How's you're leg?"

"Troublesome" was the reply Kakashi received. "But I'll make a full recovery."

"That's good to hear, as you know I'll be away from the office for a couple days. Would you mind sorting out the paperwork for catchup? And of course, dealing with emergencies."

"Yes Lord Hokage. Is that all?" Shikamaru couldn't help but smirk.

"Please, enough of the lord. And I'd like you to make sure Iwa do not hear that we have both Monica and Fukushi. I need time to think how to go about this, the stone will not be pleased about this. Although I guess we could trade some jutsu. I'm not sure. As for our most recent rogue ninja, Monica, I unfortunately have had a request from Fukushi to allow her crimes to be forgiven…" The Hokage sighed. "In return he had offered full cooperation." Kakashi paused to see what answer Shikamaru had.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru repeated. "Making sure Iwa remain dark on the subject is easy but I am not sure if what Fukushi has to offer will be enough. I need to see the information he carries first. I understand he saved the life of Hinata and clearly possesses jutsu of a high calaber. I personally believe she should be punished. I'll see what her team thinks first and we can have a formal meeting when you return. Now if you excuse me." Shikamaru bowed politely and begun to limp in the direction of the Hokage tower. He moved about as fast as he wished although he looked like he was shot in a particually painful part of his leg.

Kakashi turned to Sai who was already smiling in anticipation. "How is the genin doing?"

"She was shouting her curses but now is just chanting something in Fukushi's language. I'll be able to receive daily reports if she changes her behaviour."

"Might it be a jutsu?"

"Unlikely, I have a Hyuuga branch member in my employment. She isn't moulding any chakra."

"She is showing potential which is completely out of place from her academy scores but I am not sure if that's because of her own volition or if Fukushi's teaching really is impressive. Might consider how they react to each other if she was released momentarally."

"I think that would make things interesting." Sai keeping up his smile, although now they started to walk to the village gates.

"What makes you say that?"

"The few words she is making sense with are about his betrayal of her. I think there is something going on between those two."

"Would make sense that he is pulling his neck out for her. Because there is something happening. I think Shikamaru is right, he has to prove the quality of the information first before anything."

Thr conversation petered out as the headed east, then south. An unremarkable journey as the route between the capital and Konoha were amoung the most used and most secure routes in the land of fire. Traffic was light considering the looming clouds which still had the land overcast. Sai dutifully summoned the Hokage formal gear as they walked. He handed Kakashi the hokage hat and sealed away his armour into a scroll. Kakashi still wore his navy-blue mask covering half of his face but now he also wore white and red robes and donned the hat which symbolised his power. He looked the part just as a city appeared on the horizon. The capital was considered the only settlement larger than Konoha. Streatching out for miles and had consisted of many tower and building stretching up into the sky. The most prominent building was still the castle sitting on top of a single steep sided hill with many cliffs preventing entrance to all but the most skilled of invaders. Wall upon wall, towers, gates, even battery placements for artillery such as catapults or an artillery based jutsu user. The entire construction was surrounded by a river which had momentarally split in half to surround the fort. The river was deep and fast moving and supported only four bridges to cross the cold water. A sight as impressive and distinctive as the hokage monument in Konoha. As with most cities and towns in the Land of fire they had been utilising the river as trade. The extensive port just downstream from the castle seemed to be brimming with several large ships. Wth a closer look the city was also filled with people who seemingly were ignoring the omens of rain and continued regardless of the weather. Kakashi and his retinue continued to walk down to the city then across one of the bridges into the castle. He received many respectable bows as he passed people. Poor and rich alike acknowledged him as he passed. The castle in question had many buildings inbetween the interior of the walls. A careful balance between utility and strategic placement to maximise the defensive potential. The path up to each plateu were all steep and carefully guarded. Not that Kakashi found it an issue, they were able to recognise him and enter without any delay. Upon reaching the top of the hill and so the residence of the Diamyo himself. The interior of the highest level reminded Kakashi of the hyuuga compound, or atleast one of the gardens. The straight path leading to a pair of majestic mahogany doors were lines of Sakura trees and ornate wooden archways which stood proud and in a line towards the main house. To either side and infront of the whitewashed walls where many collections of small ponds and streams and a huge range of exotic looking plants. Although their grand display was on its way out as Autumn had begun to settle in. Kakashi gripped the large doorknocker and knocked on the door politly and he waited. Within a few seconds a woman around Kakashi's own age opened the door and bowed respectfull. She worse a light grey silk Komono with a red ribbon and had the symbol of fire on her left chest, also in fine red thread. Her hands remained hidden underneath her draping sleaves as she spoke with a calm and sweet voice.

"Welcome Lord Hokage, the Diamyo is expecting and resides within his meeting office." She stood aside and gestured Kakashi to follow. "You may bring in one guard with you to the meeting, as you may know your grace." Kakashi did not bat an eye. It was obvious that Sai was going to enter with him and the two other ANBU immediately walked towards a nearby steat. They professionally sat down but remained still and silent as statues, give them five minutes and the pair would be unnoticeable to all but the most adept shinobi. Ready to be available should they be needed. Kakashi entered with Sai in tow. Their attension was immediately directed to a single man standing by the balcony and looking out over the city below. He worse a Komono very similar to Kakashis own. Both light grey and red. Although the Daimyo wore a has that held a fan that radiated from his head. In his right hand was a fan that he lazily flicked to and fro. Not that it was a particually hot day, this was more out of habit and it showed he was deep in thought or troubled by something.

"You summoned me?" Kakashi asked as he took position behind the chair closest to the door. It would have been considered rude if he had taken a seat without being asked.

"Venerable Hokage, you have always been a great asset to the country. Each Hokage has stood by each diamyo, but lately I have been having some issues with numbers here." The man calmly spoke, he never turned to face Kakashi.

"You flatter me, but is there a reason you have summoned me? I am curious."

"I'm going to be frank with you Lord Hokage, we here at the capital have decided, and with a heavy heart I might add, to no longer fund the shinobi program."

Kakashi was shocked. Wide eyed he staired in utter disbelief. He had to make double sure that he was not about to fall backwards off his feet. "With all due respect, I think your advisors are going insane. Shinobi have protected this land for centuries. What could have possibly happened to change that."

"Economics, pure and simple." Was the simple answer spoken by the Diamyo. Kakashi glared at the man at the excuse. "Don't get me wrong, I am not disbanding your village nor opposing the continuation of the Shinobi training I am only asking for you to find funding somewhere else."

"Break this down to me, why do this to us?" Kakashi held onto the back of the chair, there was no logic to the Daimyo and it was making him angry out of frustration. How could he afford to maintain shinobi without cutting back or hiking up mission prises? The Diamyo sighed heavily and turned to face the man.

"Tell me Kakashi how expensive is it to train a shinobi? From the the age of around six, seven. Well over two-hundred thousand Ryo of taxes per student."

"That is about right, but we put them on D-rank missions to help out on the costs."

"D-rank? Mere bread and butter compared to the whole cost and you know this. There is no guarantee a shinobi will even survive before they break even on their training costs." Before Kakashi could respond the next question was shot at him. "How about the number of fully trained ninja that pass training each year? About three dozen if I remember correctly, average about thirty. Yes these are extrodinary individuals especially with the likes of Naruto and Sasuke whom I've heard so much about."

"What are you trying to get at?"

"Please, I am yet to finish, sit if you like." The Diamyo looked grim in his obvious slating over the ninja world. "What of the wars you cause? Four shinobi world wars. Land is destroyed, families ruined and the cost of collateral is often far greater than you realise. The fallout? The cleanup? I have to pay for it all. While the Hokage concerns himself with the shinobi I have to handle many times your number with civilians." Kakashi was about to step in again but was silenced when the Diamyo pointed the fan at him, singnalling to be silent.

"As I had started before, I am having an issue with numbers. If you could, come up and look out of the window with me." Kakashi frowned at the obvious dive away from the question but obeyed and walked over to the balcony next to the Diamyo, who had turned around and looked out at the view. "Now, I'll admit I often enjoy the view I experience out of my castle. But Lord Hokage, if you will, direct your gaze down there. You see I had the pleasure to meet a merchant and he offered an alternative to security. Before I had no choice but to emply shinobi for security as their ability to use chakra to great effect was most benefitical." As he explained Kakashi saw below in a wide-open courtyard in the lower levels of the castle a row of people all holding some sort of weapon. The field was the size of a standard drill yard but Kakaski noticed on the far side of the field were a row of targets.

"If your eye is good, you'll notice the targets are at a range of fifty yards. A long range shot for any shinobi throwing kunai. It's possible but unreliable, correct me if I am wrong." Kakashi made no reply but instead watched what was about to happen. The Daimyo of fire opened his fan out wide and waved it in the air. Someone shouted 'steady, aim, fire!' and a roar of thunder could be heard as each weapon fired. A wall of smoke quickly began to shift out of the way revealing each target was hit. Kakashi could just manage to make out a few of the targets had now small round holes penetrating through them. Usually a kunai or shuriken would simply bite into the material but the projectile seemingly forced its way through; as confirmed by a bucket of water accidently left behind the targets. The bucket appeared to have exploded into splinters when it was shot and send water over the dry earth.

"So tell me, what sounds better for my country? Shinobi, whom I've expressed are expensive or these men? They are all normal civilians with little to no chakra ability. Fully trained in as little as three months, weeks if I so desired. Cost a mere fraction to recruit and I am able to recruit hundreds if not thousands. This, Lord Kakashi, is why we can't fund the shinobi program, we no longer need a shinobi army."

"H-how… where did you get those weapons."

"Trade my old friend, something I am sure you are relatively unfamiliar with such an art but I am well versed as a merchant."

"So, what of my village?"

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I mean no offense, infact this whole meeting was far too tense than what I had in mind. We will always need your shinobi particually when we go to war. But in terms of military spending this is a far cheaper option. You understand this right?"

Kakashi sighed, before he turned around and gave a fake smile, one that put Naruto and Sai to shame. "I understand your intensions perfectly and I wish you the best with your new security policies. Now if that was all you wanted t say, I'd like to take my leave?"

"I was hoping we could drink some tea talk longer about future plans, I'd hate to exclude the Hokage."

"Then you must forgive me, being an emergency meeting I had only divulged miminal time away from my duties." He gave a small bow and turned to leave.

"I'm sorry if I soured your day, as a token of goodwill and lasting friendship I have set up a gift of ten muskets. See if you like them and just send a message and I can arrange for a shipment to be delivered."

Kakashi paused to think about the offer. "Yes, yes I think I will take you up on your offer. He opened the door and Sai followed. Hearing everything but knowing it was not his place to mention anything. He was greeted by a scene of another maid of the Diamyo handing over a scroll to the ANBU and asking them to look after it. She turned to bow at Kakashi then lead them out of the house.

By the time Kakashi had returned to the village, it was now dark and the heavens had finally opened up to the rain it had been promising. The rain was light, but still for a group of people waking for many hours; it had soaked them. Further adding to Kakashi's bitter taste. He was usually a man who could maintain his composure but now the stress of the Hokage had meant he became angry on behalf of the village. He had every right to be as the majority of the funds needed derived from the capital. They were cut off as if they were nothing more than a luxury asset. Shinobi have always been the protector of their respective country because of their superior power over normal citizens.

Meanwhile as the Hokage had been baring the bad news. Fukushi was sitting in the middle of a shrine, the shrine was not important, as the one-eyed shinobi had pointed out that he remembered a different rostier of gods on his pantheon. Sasuke's reply was he preferred these places not for the religious zeal but the fact they were usually empty. Those who visited would not bother their meditation and those who he wanted to hide from would not expect him to be here. Fukushi was under the influence of the Sharingan, nothing malicious but allowed Sasuke to enter his mindscape and confront his soul partner. Aya. They were in the process of trying to reshape the land into something healthier. Sasuke was teaching Fukushi how to pull himself into his own mindscape at will. A useful ability considering it was the only way Aya was able to communicate with anyone else. Fukushi had explained because the binding is so close it is entirely possible to preserve a second conscious at the cost of sanity. Most of the time he was able to control the flickering of images especially when he had something to concentrate on, but not always. The mental strain can often induce headaches and leave Fukushi confused and dizzy. Within the mindscape it was easy to see how bad things have gotten as the visual representation of the cracked mindscape was just that. Thoughts and memories would be misdirected or corrupted resulting in seeing things which aren't there.

Meeting Aya formally for the first time in seven years was a weird experience. Her soul was still damaged but it did not stop them of hugging. Sasuke recognised the pain Fukushi had on his face. It reminded him of when Itachi, his brother, had decimated his clan and left him alone. In hindsight, the Uchiha felt he should have forgiven his brother had he known his pain. Unfortunately, it was far too late for Sasuke to bring back any of his own family and so it pained him to know that he will never have the opportunity to embrace someone he loved as Fukushi embraced Aya. What seemed like an hour of just being in each others' embrace they finally parted and staired into their eyes. Fukushi had seen much in his life. His home burning was the last ever moment they shared before he ran. He was young and had to survive, desperation turned to determination and so he was focused. The focus then allowed him to survive until he reached the land of earth after two years alone. Only to be taken in by a man who later revealed to be a monster, selling him for sex or combat. One injury to body and pride after another until he made his first willing kill. That man, he had allowed his guard to fall. Thinking he was safe in his castle surrounded by friends and family, yet he was struck down by the sword Fukushi still held in his right hand to this day. The same sword that same man gave to him to fight in his horrendous underground tournaments. Aya brushed the scars carefully across his left side of her partner's face. She did not speak, not that she could. Too damaged to make anything coherent but Sasuke had reassured that a mind was capable of being repaired, he would ask Ino who had a specialty in mind based jutsu, to help the process. Despite this, Aya's intentions were clear she could only feel compassion to her partner. While Fukushi was expecting ritious retrebusion for what he did. Instead the woman had silently forgiven her partner with a simple nod and a weary smile, tears in her eyes. Aya did not want to hate her partner she just wanted to try and comfort him.

Sasuke was satisfied with his progress, using his strength to help others was still a new experience to him. He knew he was capable of overpowering with force but Naruto had always shown strength through other means; a lesson that changed his life. He stood up and left Fukushi to meditate. The shrine itself was a simple one, a small ornate statue with many candles illuminating and warming the immediate space around them. The place had a roof but remained open to the elements by wooden pillars. The shrine was on top of a small mound and overlooked one of konoha's larger and original parks. Sasuke was surprised how pieceful the place was despite being directly in the middle of the village. These were one of the many reasons he liked it here. He took a deep breath and began to walk down the path to find his home, the last remaining Uchiha building. Aside from their own temple. 'I wonder if I should treat Sakura to some tea. I did appreciate her company, for once.' He mused himself as he walked. Sakura had been very busy trying to save her friends who were badly injured. Her efforts were proven to be a success although he had heard it was touch and go with shino. His smaller body did not offer the same protection as Choji's larger one and so suffered significantly more damage. But Sakura prevailed against all odds and is truly becoming an inpressive medic ninja.

The Uchiha's thoughts were cut short as a ANBU officer dropped down infront of him. He was wearing a white boar mask with red patterns swirled across. Aside from the brown hair, Sasuke had no hope of identifying who he was. The ANBU was respectively on one knee and bowed.

"Lord Uchiha, the Hokage has summoned you. Do you know where I can find a Fukushi Solaris?"

"I'll head over, Fukushi is up in the shrine. He is in deep meditation though so don't startle him."

Monica was acting very unusual. The guards did not feel comfortable being in the same room as her so had retreated behind a door where they can't hear her chanting. She had been staring into nothingness and chanting words in Fukushi's language. She had remembered the long string of words after she had encountered a certain jutsu in the book that Fukushi had entrusted her to use to help develop her fire ability. She was well aware how difficult and how easy it was to mess the jutsu up but still she chanted on. Repeating the sequence once she had finished over and over. She felt hurt for many reasons. The fact her home had shunned her still. The fact that Fukushi had not come to rescue her. The fact Fukushi had another woman on his mind. 'Aya' she spoke with cold words; her voice was dry from chanting for several hours. She hated that word with a passion. It clearly meant much to him, she couldn't deny his body reactions. He acted as if she was the only woman who could break his shell who could know him the way she wanted to know him.

The door opened and she glanced over to see who it was. Not Fukushi, she no longer cared. Sai on the other hand spoke with the same indifference he always had.

"You are lucky, you might be free by tomorrow, just thought I should mention this. Although expect there to be many conditions. Many do see you as a criminal although Fukushi is offering much for your release… You should be greatful."

Sai was not sure what she was thinking but she just simply smiled. "Thank you for notifying me." She spoke formally and innocently. A stark contrast to the dry chanting she had been doing since she was awake and found herself in a high security cell. Her grey eyes seemingly flashed brightly for a moment in the gloom, anticipation? Passion? Sai thought he would have to read up on language with the eyes some more before he could accurately understand her intensions. He closed the door and left her in solitude once more. She was silent for a moment but then started her chanting again. If anyone was there to hear they would have realised it was a new chant, differently from the previous one but eventually would drone itself into the subconscious.

Meanwhile as the Hokage's office, Kakashi was waiting patiently for Fukushi. He was not allowed to use any form of jutsu and so had to walk with his ANBU guard to the office. He entered after politly knocking and the room was filled with many shinobi of the leaf. Some he recognised and many others he did not. In the middle and at his desk was the Hokage himself the only notable exceptions were Naruto and Hinata, Shino, Choji, and Sakura. Although everyone had a morbid look on their face as if one of their own had died that day. Before Fukushi had arrived, they were told that the capital was pulling support in favour of civilian soldiers. On the table infront lay a single rifle with gunpowder and shot laying next to it. Kakashi had just confirmed that these were the weapons used against the jonin in the battle three days ago.

"Fukushi I have considered your offer. We have agreed to your terms providing the information you provide is indeed valuable."

"I understand, what about Monica." He spoke frankly and without emotion in his voice.

"We will release her from prision but understand she has broken many laws of our land and many no longer trust her. She will have her freedom but will not exceed the rank of genin, leave the village, and will have permanent watch over her. This is in light of recent events. Now, I would like to know what you have and tomorrow we will watch you and monica have a sparring match to see your abilities."

"Where would you like me to start?"

"First, can you fire this weapon?" Kakashi looked down at the rifle. Although Fukushi looked at it for a moment and closed his eye while shaking his head slightly.

"My family considered them dishonourable, we had a society of duelling where usually battles were broken to individuals seeking glory. The rifle allowed for the shooter to kill their target before they even have time to react. So I was never taught to use them… although my memory of when I ran from my home is very fuzzy, one piece of advice I had was to watch their trigger finger. Timing your move to the flash will not give you enough time. May I?" Fukushi walked up slowly, not that he was in any position to do much, he was in the room filled with jonin and the hokage himself. He picked up the weapon and showed how easy it was to spot the finger. "I'm sorry I am not so sure how to use it. There might be something in my book about them."

"please, continue, we have heard much about this book, and honestly you seem to hold so much value over it."

Fukushi nodded and looked down in shame. "I let it get to my head that it was the most important thing in the world." He weaved several hand signs and spoke out the jutsu in his own language. Startling some of the jonin as they had not expected several lines of yellow chakra to erupt from Fukushies hands into some sort of decorative banner. A puff of smoke and Fukushi was holding a large and tatty red-leather book with a clear fuunjutsu surrounding it. The one-eyed ninja took a deep breath and opened it at a seemingly random page.

"Yeah, there is quite a bit written about the history of rifles. If you like I can translate it for you." He spoke calmly as if he was expecting the stunned silence. In their minds eye when they were told he was carrying a book on jutsu they were expecting a scroll or two not what looked like a tome of unheard arts and culture.

"How many pages are in there?" Shikamaru was the first to ask as his natural curiosity had overcome the brief stunned silence.

"Many thousands, the book itself is a product of fuinjutsu. Although I need to replace it as I don't think it could last much longer. I guess That was my plan once I had retrieved the missing pages."

"Why were the missing pages so important? It seems like a few to the many." Anko spoke, she was behind on the details but the purple haired woman eyed up the potential that sat infront of her, not too dissimilar to how Orochimaru would have reacted. It had affected her like a moth to the light and she was already starting to get somewhat giddy over the secrets held within.

"Because I don't know what the pages that were ripped out contained. The way the book works is if you rip out a chunk of pages it'll end up being totally random rages instead. Which could be death jutsu… err forbidden, I think it's the same as you word it."

"What makes a jutsu a death jutsu?" Kakashi asked causiously, he wanted to evaluate the risk involved in protecting the book. Power is valuable but he was releaved certain individuals such as Oorochimaru were no longer at large. Oorochimaru had somehow managed to survive the war despite being killed several times. He was now restrained to one of his labs to forever more read his library or pass on advice when asked. Not a glamorus life but life nevertheless.

"Death jutsus." Fukushi explained. "Are called as such because they often do one of two things. Cause effects worse than death, or effects to a wide area thus affecting more than one person. In the wrong hands it could unleash untold suffering. Although it still does not excuse my actions."

"And you're wanting us to protect this for you?"

"Yes, I don't think I am capable of protecting it myself especially when the Lapis family are now here. They will be after the book as they want all of my family's jutsu. I know my limits, especially after I've lost my edge from being unknown. I've been lucky with my defeats but it only takes someone with edurence or strategy to run me down." Fukushi finished and he lay the book out on the table and pushed it towards the Hokage.

"I think you're being very logical about this. Please step outside Fukushi while I discuss with my shinobi what to do." Kakashi spoke in an even voice. He wanted to make sure he was making the right choice. Fukushi was clearly capable at providing surprise attacks which were able to overpower ANBU level shinobi. Sasuke had placed his trust in him, as he had described it. 'To pull him away from a dark path.'

"Does he have any allies? Any allegence with anyone?" Kurenai spoke first. The door was now closed and a silencing jutsu was cast over the room. While Shikamaru and Anko had silently picked up the large book and opened it on a seemingly random page. Kurenai was still on maternity leave but was asked by Kakashi to have her view on the side. She was furthest away from the shinobi mindset out of everyone present here.

"He has none, I would have found out by now." Sasuke answered. "I guess he has allgence with Monica but that was a relationship of circumstance. I get the impression she is very… taxing on him. Never the less he is quite alone."

"He sounds like he has plenty to gain from this deal." Kiba spoke. "Although he also has nothing to lose."

"Family name?" Kakashi countered. "He told me that he wanted to repent and repair his name."

"Then he is tired." Kurenai finally said. "I'd imagine he is exhausted from making such choices by himself."

"What about this jutsu he did on my daughter and Naruto?" Hiashi was listening in from the back of the room.

"The soul binding." Sasuke corrected. "I learned much from speaking to a spirit which resides within him. She died but because of the nature of the jutsu her spirit was able to survive. Although I can't imagine what kind of suffering she had endured. Because she is still a far cry from who she used to be."

"That is a very impressive form of reanimation." Ino spoke, now nersing her arm in a sling. She knew that Hinata has survived but had fallen unconscious because she had used up her remaining chakra to stableise Choji. She was probably the reason he was still alive. So he had not witnessed the jutsu herself.

"Clearly one that doesn't require a sacrifice." Anko mused, she also thought that Oorchimaru would kill to get his hands on a jutsu like that.

"We are getting off track. What do you think I should do?" Kakashi cut through their conversation. He was tired and stressed and wanted to get the situation out of the way as soon as possible.

"In light of what you said, we are five jonin short for now. Underfunded, and we are at the weakest we have ever been with the majority of our strength is in our chunin and genin now." Might Gai spoke, for an oddball, he was surprisingly effective at summarising the situation. "He is also our only option when it comes to Naruto and Hinata. Plus, the addition of some superior ninjutsu, or at least jutsu we don't have yet."

"He is in the prime of his youth, I would like to be the first to challenge him!" Lee spoke, he would be stubborn now that he had the idea of fighting someone in his head. But he had a valid point. "Besides he had managed to steal one of my genin students and I would like to see why for myself."

"Yes, Monica has improved immensely under his teaching. Even if he doesn't become a citizen we could simply employ him to train some of our genin." Tenten added, seeing her teammates point. She had her own group of genin who were also nothing special. They had solid teamwork and fighting skill but nothing on the calibre that she had seen from her peers at the time. "It would free up some jonin, like what the training program in Iwa tried to accomplish.

"I disagree with simply employing him. He will understand citizenship as adoption. His name, Solaris is the name of his village not of his clan. Citizenship will make him loyal out of honour." Sasuke retorted.

"If you're sure…" Tenten glanced at the Uchiha. Clearly not trusting the one-eyed shinobi since she had heard Lee's side to the story first.

"Is there anyone here thinking we won't benefit from him?" Kakashi asked, everyone shook their head. "So we can't deny the usefulness of Fukushi?" He paused. "What about employing him but only granting him civilian rights of our village?" Tenten, and Kiba raised their hands. They both had disgruntled faces and it was clear they did not trust the new addition. "Hiashi? You would like him to become a citizen?"

"I'm too old to be full of spite Lord Kakashi, if what you say is true then a new clan can only strengthen our village. Besides he saved my daughter, the heir, it would dishonour me if I shun him out now. I understand his crimes in Iwagakure and he has fought our shinobi but as far as technicalities go he is innocent."

"Besides translating this would be too troublesome on my own." Shikamaru spoke he was trying to read the pages for anything he could recognise.

"What about Iwagakure?" Lee spoke up. He managed to click something that everything had neglected. He got a sharp breath in from a few of the jonin.

"They won't be a problem." Sai said. "This morning they had send a letter warning us about the 'Ro' Alliance. They had made several moves and Iwa is stuggling to contain the riots." Sai mentioned.

"As you can see these are trobled times, the less we have to deal with the better. Alright. I've made my choice and will present it formally to the council. At least this is shinobi business so the civilians would have limited input." Kakashi sighed, politics were so troublesome, to borrow Shikamaru's phrase, if he wasn't careful he'd end up with the same tick. "Send him back in."


	27. Chapter XXVI V2

**Ah another chapter written. Coming to me easily, I had to do a little bit of research in order to make sure I get a few things right but I think I did a good job so please enjoy. Although you may guess where i got my inspiration from.**

 **I've also started my second story ' _The Woodsman'_ which is going in a majorly different direction and I thought it was a good idea. So check it out (shameless self advertising) It's a story where all the men are gone and leaving just women. Apart from Naruto, he's just keeping himself to himself so how will Hinata help him? Well I have to write it first but you get the idea.**

 **SpicyWifey: Ah thank you. I liked her too, I did not feel right having Fukushi's soul partner die without any messed up consequences. So she technically lives on, as the only other person Fukushi knows from his childhood.**

 **But I am not going to abandon this story, far from it. But I might do one chapter here then another chapter for the other story. Starting to develop the third act too. Thank you for all your support and please continue to do so.**

 **Second edition: Corrected the spelling mistake, cheers NarHina for pointing it out, it was the A and I sounds mixed up again.**

Naruto was confused, her saw himself peering around every corner to see the back of a blond-haired boy. He couldn't quite see who he was looking at but he seemed to share his taste in colour. He was not sure why but every time he turned he grew flushed and dived into the nearest cover, breathing deeply, feeling nervous and shy. As if he had to run several miles just before meeting the woman of his dreams. His heart thumped and he could feel the veins in his head throb. Each time he looked around the corner, Naruto found himself in different locations. Spotting the same boy and then subsequently diving into nearby cover. Naruto saw the forest, training grounds, down various streets and even in the hot springs. Over time, Naruto began to feel conflicted, was he watching over him to protect that boy or was there something else? The more he thought about it the more interested in the boy's life he was. Catching glimpses of the real emotions that he hid so well.

Each time Naruto switched to a new encounter, he had begun to noticed an improvement in his sight and could stay from a safe distance, even getting comfortable and watch the young shinobi grow into a fine warrior. Sure, there were moments where he fell, found himself in hospital or just staring into empty space. Rarely was he accompanied by friends and it hurt Naruto. Observing quickly became no longer satisfactory and he wanted to fill the hole that was clearly in his heart. To stand by him and tell him to never give up because honestly, he saw greatness in the young shinobi.

At Home, nothing was better, since the death of his mother. His father would start to push him harder and harder. Spar matches were now daily against his cousin, and even his younger sister. Over and over he tried to out compete but would always end up in second place. He would always hesitate hurting his family during spars and he would quickly lose the advantage. Naruto was simply far too kind natured, showing compassion instead of ambition and his father knew this. For many years he was doubting his effectiveness to run the Hyuuga clan as the successor.

Standing now in the middle of a dark dojo hallways looking at his sister. She crouched into a low stance, standard for the gentle fist technique. Naruto instinctively copied her. They both ran at each other and struck out, swatting and parrying in quick sucession. It was not long until Hanabi had the advantage over Naruto and Naruto was starting to fight on the defensive. He struck out hard with his right palm but Hanabi grabbed it and used her larger size and momentum to flip Naruto onto the floor. He swipped at her feet but immediately had to dodge as Hanabi jumped over her leg and chopped down with a kick of her own. Naruto brought up his guard and in good time as Hanabi was already in front and palmed his arms hard. He could feel the chakra coil shut down and it stung his left hand like a bee-sting. No time to consider the reprocussions, Naruto struck out but missed. He had to cancel his attack to narrowly avoid a kick to the head. Quick thinking, he turned unexpectedly and round house kicked his sister and launched her across the room. She flipped back to her feet before she even landed and with her chakra pumped to her legs she dashed forward. Naruto struck out with his right palm, Hanabi struck out with her left palm. While Naruto missed, she knocked him to the floor. A blow to the bottom of his ribs. Taking all wind out of him he struggled to get up, his arms wobbled and gave in and he fell back to the wodden floor.

"Enough! Hinata, I expected more from you, you were meant to be five years her senior." Naruto's father called. Naruto wanted to say something so badly, an explanation, a reason, an excuse. But he just watched and he turned away and left the room. Wait, Hinata?

All Hinata could feel was pain. She was pinned down and pireced by metallic-like spikes and watched in horror as Naruto stood above her and faced pein by himself. She trusted him to be strong but pein was a whole new level that had just decimated Konoha and its inhabitance.

"Naruto! What are you doing? Get out of here! You're no match!" She cried out, fearing for his life.

"I Know." Naruto spoke calmly. "I'm just being selfish but…"

"What are you talking about?" She snapped.

"I'm here because I want to be… This time, I'm going to save you. I've always been a crybaby, giving up before I even started. Ever since I met you all those years ago I've wanted to catch up to you, be by your side always. I've looked up to you, because… because you've changed me."

Hinata was shocked, she wanted to question him. How could she be worth so much?

"That is why I am not afraid to die protecting you because… because… I love you."

Naruto crouched down and immeditatly summoned two clones to charge at Pein. He stood their and simply dodged once and cut down both clones in quick sucession. However, Naruto's target was not Pein but istead the metallic poles that imprisoned Hinata. He cut out one pole but before he could take out a second pole, Pein used his black-hole jutsu on the orange clad shinobi. He knocked him across the crator. Hinata started begging him to stop as he ran in towards Hinata. He could not even reach her before he was thrown into the air a second time. This time Pein placed himself between Naruto and the raven-haired girl. Naruto was clearly already injured from the fall but he still charged Pein. In his right hand, he held a small spinning ball, the rasengan. Pein made dodging effortless as Naruto kicked and jumped at his opponent. Dodging a cruel metallic blade while spinning underneath the weapon he was able to get the rasengan to connect and in a deafening bang, Pein was thrown away from Hinata. Naruto immeditatly turned and leaped onto one of the poles. He yanked one out of Hinata's shoulder. Yanked a second one that pinned her right flank to the floor. He grabbed a third pole but Pein threw him away again. Hard. Hinata was begging him to turn away and save himself but Naruto refused. He slowly got up and limped towards the impaled girl. Bleeding from his head and dirty from the mud that Pein threw him in. The killer watched in silence as Naruto slowly made his way to Hinata. He fell just in front of her but he forced himself to hold onto the pole that was imbedded into her hands.

"Why would you go through this pain? When you know you are going to die?" Spoke Pein in a dark voice, he knew he had won at this point.

"Because I'll never go back on my word." He smiled one last time at Hinata. He looked deep into her eyes as he slowly pulled the pole out of Hinata's hands.

Pein did not allow him to finish and instead pulled him towards his outstretched hand. In a split-second Naruto was grappled by Pein and impaled through the stomach by the merciless blade. Pein made no attempt to feel remorse as he threw the corpse over his shoulder.

"You know, it was just like this when my parents were killed right before me. I had that same look, that same conviction in your eyes. Out of love, comes sacrifice, then comes hatred and finally you are able to know pain."

The moment Naruto was impaled she felt something. Rage. She could feel her heart beating like a war drum, drowning out what pain was saying as energy began to circulate through her body. Where she was once feeling heavy now she felt strong. The metal momentarally groaned under her strength before they buckled and snapped. Red chakra poured out of her wounds and quickly surrounded her body. Hinata looked at her outstretched left arm and saw the shakra moulded itself to long claws. She turned her glare at Pein, she screamed in rage but to her surprise it sounded more like a battle cry, the roar of a beast who was finally cornered and had no choice but to charge. She fell to all fours and generated so much chakra, the floor cracked from under her.

"Stop!" A voice so loud that Hinata recoiled and blinked. She found herself crouched infront of Kurama who had the look of distast on his fox-face. Hinata was breathing hard as the adrenaline was still racing around her body. She scurried back as she realised that she was inside a pool of red chakra.

"W-what? Why? W-where?" She stuttered and clearly afraid after what she had witnessed. Her heart was racing and she could feel surges of emotion still rocketing around her body.

"There were two moments where I felt utter despair like that. Both times involved you when Naruto almost lost you. He nearly gave in on that day, no he did give in but the seal that caged me contained a failsafe that prevented him from totally loosing everything. I will admit I was wondering how you would react given the same situation. But I had to stop, you were actually starting to react to my chakra and you're not a resistant to it as Naruto is."

"B-but that anger... did h-he really f-feel that?"

"Yes, back then I only wanted to escape but looking back I realise how vile that rage was. It was not simple hate, it was not a lust power but desperation and fear. No, I could not let you go through so I have tried to reign in Fukushi's seal somewhat but I can't do this forever.

"It was so real." Hinata held her head and touched her body to make sure she was not actually impaled. "Was that a lie?"

"A memory, yes it was real."

"Oh…" Hinata shuddered at how Naruto managed by himself. She honestly thought she had lost him. She felt weak but reassured by the fox demon. "Does that mean he is fine?"

"Yes, he is just processing your memories."

"Oh… Eep!" Hinata immediately widened her eyes and blushed a deep red as she knew something that she certainly did not want Naruto to know about. "H-How do I find him?" She spoke quickly?

"Hmm… let me think."

"Please Kurama, don't mess around!"

"What I do is just concentrate hard on him, but be careful that you're thinking of his consciousness and not just his body… Mindscapes are a tricky thing to navigate." Hinata nodded and immediately shut her eyes and concentrated on Naruto and where he is. As she slowly faded to another part of the mindscape. Kurama chuckled as he had already keyed in on what Hinata was trying to avoid. He had a wide toothy grin on his face as he thought how Jiraiya would have loved the material these two would inevitably produce.

Naruto was looking around his room. He had a scowel on his face because something seemed off. Didn't his room look like Hinata's? Or did Hinata's room look like his. It did not feel right but never the less he still knew the room well. If it was Hinata's room he knew it well despite only visiting beirefly a couple times when visiting the Hyuuga compound. He sat on his/her bed and sighed, he was able to be alone for what seems like forever. He thought about Hinata and grew slightly horny from thinking about her, being so close to the girl all the time on recent missions. She had grown to be very close and they spent so much time together. Even in the same tent… Naruto bit his lip and reached for under his pillow. He pulled the copy of icha-icha from behind the pillow, it was hidden down the crack between the bed and the wall as he remembered a maid had almost accidently stumble on it under her pillow while organising Hinata's room. It took a while to convince her that nothng was wrong but she eventually gave a knowing smirk and left Hinata alone. Wait? Nevermind. He opened the small book to the bookmarked page, strange he didn't remember reading this far in though. Naruto only got as far as reading one line. 'As his hands slowly massaged lower and lower on _Hannah's_ back, he would teach her by reach ever so slightly lower before returning his petting up her spine. He continued the subitly until at last he had cupped her ass-cheek in his hands, spreading...' The book was snatched from his hands in one quick sweep. Naruto jumped to see a very pink-faced Hinata just as startled to see him.

"H-How did you know where it was?!"

"Huh? But I always knew… wait?" Naruto clasped his hands over his mouth. Realised he was just caught thirty seconds away from having his pants down… in Hinata's room… reading her copy of icha-icha. It does not get any worse for a guy than that. "I-I can explain." He had his hands in a placid position in front of him, expecting Hinata to enact ritious revenge on Naruto, to the likes that only Jiraiya had witnessed when Tsunade caught him.

"Relax this is only a memory." Hinata almost dropped the book aswell as she clasped over her mouth. "No no no I mean." A lightbulb lit in her head as one of Naruto's memories had answered a certain unanswered question for you. "You read it too?" She sqeaked.

"But why would you read… oh!" Naruto blushed heavily as he finally keyed in what was going on.

"C-can we th-think about something else?" Almost as if by command they were back into a wide empty room with Kurama howling with laughter. He was laughing so hard that any time he tried to speak it would just come out as a random jumble of words. The pair dead-panned at the mocking demon and decieded to go somewhere else in the mindscape. No words were needed, they did not want Kurama to have a satisfaction. In the blink of an eye Kuramas laugh was no longer audiable and the pair found themselves somewhere familiar.

"Naruto, this was the park just down from the academy."

"I know… look…" Naruto spoke slowly, he knew where they were. It was evening and the sun had just set. Dusk was fast approaching and the park was abandoned save for one character. Naruto's younger self was sitting on the swing. Sighing heavily and staring at the floor. He knew no one would come to pick him up. The two walked up and sat on a nearby bench. They were mere ghosts to the memory and the orange boy never reacted to their company.

"If… I-if I had known you were this lonely i-I should have done something." Hinata admitted. She sat by Naruto but neither looked at each other.

"I understand, from what I saw you felt like you were never good enough. You were always the shy one. Too nervous to act because you were too uncertain how I would act. You could not face the idea i might have rejected you."

"I-I know…"

"What's done is done, hey I am not alone now am I?" Naruto smiled.

"It's weird I know you're smiling but I can feel it's just a façade. You know you can… can confide in… me if you like." Hinata blushed.

"I'd like that." Naruto sighed and his left hand slowly found Hinata's and his fingers tangled with hers. "If I am seeing your memories and we are here now, I know you can see mine… I guess you understand more about me than anyone else."

Hinata smiles and leaned her head on his shoulders. "It's more than just remembering and seeing, It's about building a future right? Knowing where to go and how to get there."

"That sounds about right. Well I guess your dream is fulfilled."

"M-my dream?"

"Ya know, the one about standing by my side." Naruto turned and grinned. "It's funny though, you've had made it happen for a long time now."

"Hm what about my father? I guarantee he will have something to say about us."

"He loves you, yes he was hard but he pushed you to your limits time and time again, much like Jiraiya. And he was a father to me."

"I know, I know... I was just too young to fully understand I guess." Hinata said.

"It's the same as me. I hardly noticed you watching over me because I guess I was too young to understand as well." Hinata blushed deeply but made no move to deny it.

"Erm Naruto?"

"Yeah?"

"You know how I feel right?"

"Right."

"Can we…" Hinata never finished her sentence as Naruto kissed her. He was soft on her lips but the kiss was full of emotion and affection. Hinata could feel exactly how much it had meant to him. Instead of shying away at such a request she was reassured that Naruto felt the same way to her. She could almost see his emotions, usually thrashing this way and that as he struggled to keep his thoughts in check but for now the kiss seemed to have calmed everything and time stood still. To her it was the most beautiful and innocent moment of her life, summed up by the boy she loved. They looked out on the swingset and saw the boy was now ocompanied by a girl, giggling together that she had managed to escape the watchful guard of the Hyuuga servants.

Kurama had finally calmed down. It seemed that both had found each other and had finally managed to get their thoughts in check. The biju knew that this was far from over but now he could rest. He struggled to keep everyone's chakra flowing in the right way, restricting the flow took immense energy but he could slow down the memories and the emotions they triggered as he did so. His primary concern was if his demonic chakra circulated Hinata. Not that he would admit it. He knew and trusted that Naruto would not give in to the corrupting effects of the anger his chakra possessed but Hinata had many pent-up emotions and being a Hyuuga did not help. He could also see in Naruto's memories just as he always could but now he could see into Hinata's mind too. Fortunatly she was not new to seeing him. He could only guess how damaging it would be for her psychi if that were the case.

"Naruto." Kurama called out. Sure enough, Naruto and Hinata were standing before the great fox.

"You called?" Naruto asked.

"You are very low on chakra, take it easy, but Hinata has started making her own chakra now."

"Oh, is that why I couldn't get out of the mind world?"

"Yes, that jutsu was something I have never experienced in all my centuries of living, and to be done by half a dosen tired humans. Impressive, no awesome. to witness. But you're weakened for now and it will take longer to recover, twice as long in fact."

"Right, what should I do?"

"You know that answer kid, forgive the man. He was confused and lost, forget your anger. It doesn't suit you."

"You know, you are very soft for the nine-tailed demon."

"Don't tell anyone or I'll eat you, Hinata too." He would have been threatening if he hadn't started grinning and kicked Naruto out of his mindscape.

Naruto and Hinata woke up simotainiously. Naruto staired up to the ceiling at the light. He blinked several times before he could sense other people in the room. He angled his neck to see who was there. Sakura was the first to notice and she almost dropped her clipboard in her excitement. Her worried face melted into pure joy as the pinkette leaped over to her old teammates side. She almost knocked over the several arrangements of flowers and cards that were placed in between Naruto and Hinata.

"Naruto you're awake!" She squeaked in excitement.

"Takes more than that to kill me." He smiled back as she lightly punched him in the shoulder. He looked past her to see a very tired Yamato dosing off on a chair. He had erected several pillars of wood in the hospital room which Naruto recognised to help dissipate Kurama's chakra. Sakura caught on to his questioning look.

"Oh, erm Hinata…"

"Hinata was showing signs of turning into a biju state, much like how you used to before you and Kurama made the pact." Kakashi answered for her. He had just entered after hearing signs that Naruto was moving. Sasuke was also following in his usual aluf manor. He nodded at Naruto but did not say anything. Naruto spied a fifth person. He had his left eye covered in the bandana with the leaf insignia much like how Kakashi used to wear his insignia before he managed to regain his left eye during the war. Fukushi was looking down and was massaging his temples and looking at a small sheet of paper. Naruto could easily tell something had happened to him as he was in turmoil with his emotions. The blond shinobi took a deep breath, he somehow was able to know that Hinata was smiling at him and all anger melted away when he saw the one-eyed ninja.

"How long was I out?"

"Longer than usual, a week." Sakura replied.

"What the hell was that jutsu, Kurama was complaining constantly about it."

"We'll let Fukushi explain."

"Mn? Hm… Soul binding at an older-than-usual age." He spoke plainly, something had happened during that week. He was more distracted than usual and even Naruto picked up on that. "I'll be training you and Hinata how to properly use this Jutsu, as you're still high risk."

"How long till we start?"

"Whenever you're ready, I'll be somewhere quiet, just ask Lord Kakashi where I am." He stood up and walked passed the Hokage and Sasuke to leave the room. He slipped the paper to Sasuke as he passed. Naruto spied he was now wearing a white silk cloak with a black sun imprinted on the back of it, the cape was white but as it lowered to the tail side it faded into a yellow colour. Sasuke glanced at it before carefully folding it and laying the paper on the bedside table between Hinata and Naruto. He then pulled back the hospital's parting curtains to reveal Hinata who had sat up and politely rested her hands on her lap. She smiled when she saw Naruto, who smiled back in return. He noticed her arm was now tattooed just as Fukushi's arm was. It looked like she was wearing a patterned sleave, it matched her hair and honestly Naruto thought it suited her.

"Heh, it doesn't suit you as much, you're too bright for it." Hinata answered as she knew what Naruto was thinking. Naruto also knew what she was referring to so he sat up and looked at his left arm. The fuuinjutsu snaked up his arm like viens, writing in a language Naruto did not know was also swirling around in choice positions.

"How the the two of you feeling?" Kakashi asked. Breaking Naruto concentration.

"We're good." They spoke in unison, looked at each other and giggled for a little bit. Kakashi deadpanned, he immediately knew he would get tired of this very quickly. "It's weird it feels like I know what Naruto/Hinata think and feel all the time." They had caught on that Kakashi would get very tired of this very quickly.

"Troublesome." Kakashi muttered, finally giving in to Shikamaru's tick.

"Naruto, could you pass me the letter?" Hinata asked as she could not quite reach, Naruto slowly stretched his right arm and passed the letter so she could reach it.

"What does it say?" Naruto asked. Hinata quickly scanned it. Sasuke and Kakashi walked over to where Yamato was sitting and sat next to the sleeping jonin, waking him up. He looked around and muttered 'sorry' before dosing off again. Sakura was listening while standing next to Naruto but she had becan to run her glowing hands over Narutos body for more checks.

"He wants to know about our affinities, current abilities, and more about Kurama. He also told us to expect shared dreams, randomly switching or sharing senses, and getting memories muddled up. Symptoms can be relatively extreme giving the circumstances but other than the 'minor' appearance changes there was nothing wrong with the jutsu." She spoke calmly and leaving with a smile.

"You're ok with this?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, it's nothing we havn't already experienced."

"Even with Naruto's past?" Kakashi added, he knew both had difficult pasts but Naruto had his fair share of an unfair life.

"She still accepts me though." Naruto interrupted. He looked at everyone before continuing. "I'm sure we can get through this." He closed his eyes suddenly as he grew dizzy. "Woah…"

"You should rest Naruto, you're still helping Hinata to recover." Sakura softly said, pushing him down onto his pillow. "You're not used to being so tired, are you?"

"I feel bad for putting him through this…" Hinata muttered. She looked at Kakashi. "But I now understand why he did it and it fills me up with joy, ya know?"

Kakashi sighed and stood up. "I'll leave you to it, and Naruto, welcome back to the land of the living. Many people have been asking for you." He and Sasuke left, presumably to discuss something in private. But Sasuke stopped to say something.

"I'll be seeing you around dope, and Sakura, my place, at nine." He turned to leave the blushing pinkette alone with Naruto and Hinata.


	28. End of Act II Chapter XXVII

**Ah at long last I feel like I am two thirds the way through this story. And I had originally intended to only write 80,000 words. The raw copy of my story (pre edits) has reached 100,000 words and forty chapters. My early chapters had been saved as two chapters stuck together but I've lengthened them since then.**

 **My current thoughts are on Harems, of which I don't actually mind, I even enjoy them in quite a few stories. As with everything though, they have to be well thought out. I really hate it when writers seemingly jump from one to another without much explanation or bulking out the story, but those are in the minority because there can be some real gems that make me smile and laugh (a bit like Kakashi). They are the ones I enjoy with or without a harem. What do you think about them? and anyone suggest any new fan-fic?**

 **Please continue your support and to take a look at my new second story because I have a chapter ready to edit and upload.**

 **Six days before Naruto wakes up, a day after Fukushi was accepted.**

The young shinobi was already tired by the time the proclaimed match between himself and Monica was about to start. While his body was in relatively good condition his mind was utterly exhausted. He had one eye, travelled hundreds of miles, escaped illegal combat ring, escaped proescusion and death almost daily and far from hearth and home. His body would feel stiff as the scar tissue would not allow his skin to be as flexible. The twisted scar over his chest was the heaviest of all because of the price he paid and he knew all too well. Fukushi was greatful beyond doubt that Konohagakure was willing to give him a chance. He had no idea what would have happened should events have been different. He doubted that he would have lived as long as he did. Without Monica, he could not have had any luxuries for what felt like over a millennium to him. It would have been too long for him to cope and he knew he would have just collapsed and forgotten. Aya would have been forgotten. And no one would be here to warn others about the coming storm. His family's legacy lay with him but so did his family's enamies.

Before the match he was allowed to go and get his attire sorted, under ANBU eyes granted, but at least he did not have to look over his shoulder. Needless to say, he was not going by unnoticed. He could hear many people muttering lightning demon under their breath. The one-eyed shinobi felt guilty for earning such a title but at least it was justified. Perhapse he could grow to appreciate the name or maybe carve out a better one.

Now he sat on a bench overlooking the stadium. He wore the headband customary of the shinobi from Konoha. He had it pulled down to cover his left eye. It covered the older scar but the one he obtained while rescuing Monica was still visible on his cheek. He wore fairly standard ninja pants and a dark green jacket that revealed a white vest under it. Both were made sleavless so the soul binding jutsu was still visible. It served simotainiously as a symbol of pride and shame, a relic notion from his days in the far world. He also donned a white cape, a lot thinner and better designed than his usual woollen cloak. The silk garment was not designed for survival but instead as a status symbol. The cape was wite at the bottom but faded into yellow and lastly orange at the tail. On the center of the design at the height of his shoulders was the black sun that symbolised his family's name. The last of his kind hoped to start afresh here in Konoha and not deny the hand that Sasuke has generously held out for him. He was starting to owe the Uchiha a lot of debt he mused.

"It's time to step out into the arena." An ANBU spoke. He was the one guarding him as it seems as he recognised the cat-like face mask. Fukushi stook up to walk down the steps and out to the sandy arena. At least he was in sunlight. He was drawing horrific memories from when he was stuck in the combat pit. Dark arena with flood lights only illuminating you and your opponent. It was kill or be killed and hesitation was never allowed. The crys of a crowed sounded just the same. He did not expect the event to be public but here he noticed the stands were filling with the general public. To one side sat the Hokage. In his own private booth, Kakashi was looming down on the combatant. Many were interested to see what this lightning demon could do. Although why Monica specifically, Fukushi could only guess. He knew who his opponent was and merely presumed it was to see what Monica could do. The ninja recalled her admitting that she used to be under performing here. It was what driven her to join Fukushi despite meaning she turned her back on her village. Had she been given some more attention, would she still have been a devote member of the Konoha kunoichi?

Taking a deep breath, he waited by the proctor of the match. He was told to get out of the way by the Hokage but that did not stop him from setting off the match. Currently Fukushi was unarmed and had no chakra in his five seals. Many of the jonin had apparently voiced the fear of him being able to use the greater half of his abilities if allowed to use more than the natural chakra he held within. Not that being unarmed was much of an issue, Fukushi had already thought of his first move to summon a weapon of choice depending on Monica's plan.

Across from the arena was where Monica appeared. Her bright orange hair was unmistakeable, cut to shoulder length and had several bead tied into various locks of hair. She seemed to have been given standard ninja attire, dark clothes with a green flak jacket. She had her arms bound but before she stepped into the gaze of the crowed she was released and told to stand in front of Fukushi. She obeyed but her eyes appeared to have glassed over, as if she was lost in thought. The girl hardly aknowladged where she was. The resunding emotion was evident in the crowed. Booing. She appeared to ignore them but both participants knew how each other really felt under the gaze of others. She remaind expressionless but Fukushi could almost feel her anxiety build up. He honestly felt bad, he knew how hard others were on her because of her under performance. The pair had worked hard to get as far as they did but the Monica that was now standing in front looked like she was already defeated. Her struggles were finally wearing her down as much as Fukushi's struggles wore him down.

Kakashi stood up. His presence alone was able to silence the crowed. He looked at the pair below, they were both young but from his vantage point he could tell that they were both injured. Not physically although they held their scars but certainly emotionally. They blankly gazed in no particular direction and never held eye contact with anyone.

"Today we have a rather unusual match for us." Kakashi bellowed. "As you can plainly see this is not for the chunin position but instead we are greeting the Solaris family as a clan of our esteemed village. We gather today to see if Fukushi Solaris is able to prove his worth and become a valuable clan. His opponent today is, as some of you know, Monica Uandi. Who has been given the opportunity of being pardoned depending on her performance today." There were a few questioning murmurs throughout the crowed. They had heard much about the pair but no one here safe for a few had ever witnessed their abilities.

"My name is Genma Shiranui, I'll be proctor for this match. Rules are as follows, no attacks that could potentially be fatal, you are to subdue your opponent. Not kill them. If you understand, bow, and begin on my signal." His voice snapped the attention of both shinobi. Fukushi nodded and processed to bow. Monica only gave a slight nod.

"Begin!"

Upon his word, Monica sprinted forward. She was performing a jutsu too fast for Fukushi to make out but he stood his ground and made the motion to pull something out of his left hand. The ninja moulded his chakra to form a spear, not a weapon that he personally was known for but was the weapon of choice for his family. Monica finished her jutsu and summoned a bright blue banner. In a puff of smoke and she was armed with her Wikizashi. She parried Fukushi's thrust to one side but the butt of the spear forced her to step aside to dodge it. Fukushi was able to jump over her second slash. He spun the spear and smashed the point into the ground just where Monica was about to step. A lightning bolt struck where the tip touched and yet both jumped away from each other. Monica brushed her fingers up the flat of her blade. As she did so, bright and firce flames ignighted up her weapon. Fukushi meanwhile held the spear in his right arm while he held up three kunai and promptly flicted them at the orange haired girl. As three kunai flew at her, three blue orbs made of fire deflected said kunai harmlessly to the floor around her feet.

This time Fukushi was on the offensive he charged and thrusted his spear several times in quick sucession. Monica was forced to bob and weave out of the combination of attacks. Unless she wanted her face to be badly cut. She finally managed to swipe the spear far enough to get a fireball in. Her hand ignighted and she basically threw her jutsu at Fukushi. He responded by dispelling his weapon and in the smoke, he was free to dodge the fireball and throw more kunai at the girl. One fireball flew out one side while four kunai flew straight for her. The smoke covered the attack and gave her limited time to react. Each kunai exploded in a bolt of lighting around her and had flung her across the arena. She landed and tumbled, some smoke was rising from her singed attire and hair. The girl coughed and spat a little bit of blood. She gripped the sand hard and cursed that she had forgotten that Fukushi was able to change weapons at will.

"Why can't I have you?" Monica called out. First time she said anything during the match. Fukushi was approaching here with apparent wind-type justsu in his hands. The air was distorting and blowing his cape about despite not having any wind present. Her voice made him stop several steps away from her. The girl sat up and looked directly at his remaining purple eye.

"Excuse me?"

"A-all this time I only wanted something for myself. I never minded what, j-just something." She slowly tood up, her voice was quiet and Fukushi grew nervous. Her head was lowererd and made it difficult to understand what she was saying. "But no matter what it was it would always illude me."

"What are you trying to say?"

"First it was friends, then it was reputation and my dignity. I lost my confidence and I could never get any jutsu right. I wanted to be good and popular and respected, maybe admired but most importantly I wanted you…" She suddenly flashed through hand signs and vanished in a large spiralling ball of fire and intense heat. A fireball of blue fire dropped by Fukushi and she reappeared right next to him. If it weren't for his instincts, Fukushi would have been cleaved in half at the waist. He was not expecting her to be able to teleport but never the less she did. In a flash of lightning Fukushi was again at a distance away from her, just as her deadly blade passed through the space her used to occupy.

"But no, I can't. Who is this _Aya_! How come she gets to have you! _"_ She looked right at Fukushi this time. Not as a friend but filled with rage and unbound anger that was swelling up inside her.

"It's not fair!" She cried out. "Why Fuku, why does she get you! What is so wrong with me!" She teleported again. "Who. Is. Aya." Fukushi was expecting the attack to come from behind and so turned just in time for an axe kick to materialise out of fire and strike him on the shoulder. A moments hesitation resulted in a fireball to the gut. This time Fukushi flew across the arena and landed hard. She continued to glare with her piercing grey eyes.

"I have one advantage you don't have this time around. You still have your chakra seals blocked." She spoke with her arms wide, she even sounded dangerous. Fukushi had to stand up, but a fireball to the gut hurt him, a small trickle of blood fell from his lips. She weaved more handsignals. Fukushi watched as she summoned the storage matrix and a couple of rolled up scrolls leaped up from the small smoke. She snatched two scrolls out of the air and immediately flicked them with her wrist. The scroll unravelled to show the chakra storage fuuinjutsu written in dark chakra-enhanced ink. The furthest flug tip of the scroll immidatly caught fire and rapidly burned up the scroll. She breathed in as the fire wrapped around her fist, slowly she closed it and extinguished the fire. Her eyes snapped back to attension and glared at Fukushi.

"When… When did you get the time to make those?" Fukushi asked as he slowly picked himself up.

"You told me to remember?" She smiled at herself. "I took your advice and made days and days worth because I wanted you to be proud of me." Upon finishing, she weaved more hand signes and channelled her newly replenished chakra into four fire balls.

"Aren't you proud of me? Fire style: fireball artillery." Upon command, the fireballs shot out at the one-eyed ninja who had barely enough time to throw a line of kunai at his feat and erect a lightning wall. The fireballs exploded upon impact sending molten glass flying in a sprey around where Fukushi stood. Once the smoke cleared he was shielding his eyes. Apart from the space immediately around his feet, the ground was scorched black. There was even some shiny lumps of newly formed glass in the sand and fires were burning silently on the very earth.

Kakashi was looking with interest, leaning over the banister and watching the fight unfold. He could hear whispers that Fukushi was clearly holding back but no one knew why. Kakashi and a select few knew though, Fukushi clearly was watching his chakra. He couldn't quite hear the conversation between the two but something was clearly off with Monica, she was showing some very powerful chakra that even Kakashi could feel. No doubt the ninjutsu Fukushi had was powerful but must have been at a huge cost to stamina. The Hokage grimaced, and Fukushi had his sealed and all the spare scrolls were handed over in good faith.

Fukushi uncovered his face and gasped immidatly and dived off to the right. A fifth fireball was already launched straight for him. He rolled and stood back up, running around Monica as fast as he could. Explosive fireball after explosive fireball struck the ground behind the running shinobi as he planned his attack. It did not take long for Monica to accurately guess his speed and fired ahead accordingly but her opponent waeved for another jutsu.

"- _Wind Style: forceful gust.-"_ He appeared to swat something with his left hand. Monicas most recent fireball appeared to glow intensely as the wind chakra fuelled the fireball but the jutsu was effective at diverting the projectile off to the right. It even rolled across the floor before exploding and sending deadly flares in every direction. Now half of the arena floor was burning with bright blue fire. Fukushi did not stop to appreciate the fire works. Eight kunai were summoned above the young shinobi's head and immediately fired like darts towards the young kunoichi. Monica broke concentration and parried two kunai from mid air with her wakizashi, flipping over the third. However, the five remaining kunai were on target and she forced herself to teleport once more. The pulse of fire knocked the remaining projectiles about the arena. She materialised not far from where she had been a moment ago but her stumble indicated that the move had disorientated her. A large flash of lightning and Fukushi tackled her. He hoped to catch her off guard but as he grappled her, the orange haired kunoichi rolled with him instead of resisting. As a result, Fukushi was thrown off but he was able to right himself and land in a crouched position.

"I did so much for you Fuku. Why can't you see that? I became stronger just for you."

"Since when you could teleport?" Fukushi was now visibly out of breath. He had not known that Monica had learned to teleport when they were in Iwa. He had lost concensious when she first performed it. He had thought it was his doing all this time because he remembered channelling his chakra out of desperation but due to lack of chakra he had failed the jutsu and it was Monica who managed to succeed.

"You taught me remember? When you gave me that book and explained the sealing techninques. Well I wanted to surprise you by showing you how well I've grown. You taught me to read in your tongue by pointing out words for me." She got up and charge with her Wakizashi, Fukushi parried it with a quickly summoned kunai. He stood up and leaned back to avoid another swipe. He countered with two successive slashes before using his momentum to flick the kunai at Monica's belly. She caught the blade with her free hand and imeditly took a jolt of electricity into her arm. Better than a blade to the gut though. She just smiled at the pain though. "Why aren't you impressed?" She asked.

"I told you to be careful with that book!" Fukushi allowed his anger to flash through. He snapped at the girl and caused her to flinch. "I allowed you to read the pages I showed you."

Monica's fear lasted momentarally as she burst out laughing. "Is this what it takes for you to be angry? You taught me how to use it when you taught me how to find the right pages again, although you never said it directly; I knew what you meant. Don't you dare be pissed off at me."

"You were doing fine with the fire jutsu. Since when did you get this notion that I would be impressed with you showing power?"

"Oh, so you did not want me to be strong? Make up your mind, what had Aya been telling you to change your mind?"

"Aya?"

"Don't. Say. Her. Name." Monica grew dark with killing intent. She spilled out more chakra and the ground around them quickly caught fire, as in she was pouring a liquid, the flames spread and trapped the two in a small circle. The heat haze blurred out the crowed around them.

"Why? She never…" Fukushi was cut off as Monica was at his throat she grappled it tightly and threw the man to the ground with surprising strength.

"How the fuck is she better than me? Has she lived through hell with you? No! I did. Is she prettier than me? Is she stronger? Does she fucking know your past?! How the fuck is she better than _me_?"

"Monica…" He coughed. "She is my soul partner." He indicated with his left arm as he tried to show her what she meant. However, he said the wrong thing and Monica blew a fuse in her head. All she heard was 'Soul partner' and had completely forgotten that meant she died seven years ago, or at least her body did. Monica stamped down on Fukushi's left shoulder and forced him to the ground. She looked around and remembered that this was just an arena match. A fact that was distasteful to her. The grey eyes flashed around in thought until the seemed to settle on some plan of action. She summoned four scrolls of chakra and immeditaly attached them to summoned kunai. Throwing all four to separate corners. Once they landed a fuuinjutsu laid out in blue fire emerged. Once the fire had burned dark patterns of power into the ground a huge wall of fire was erected and effectively blocked her and Fukushi from outside help. Satisfied in her defense. She looked down at her foot that was stood on her love. He looked like he was in pain, it was a shame but if he knew what was good for him he would stay still. Monica lifted her foot slightly and flet Fukushi trying to get him. She frowned, pouted even. She kneeled down to face Fukushi. He stopped moving once she brushed his cheek with the tip of her wakizashi.

"Was it not by sword point you decided to check my resolve? You know that was when I decided to change and become someone that you'd want." He gulped. "But baby, I'm going to make you forget all about Aya." Her voice had a seductive slur but felt misplaced as she plunched her sword through Fukushi's right shoulder, he cried out in pain despite his best efforts to remain stoic and controlled. "Shhhh I'll kiss it better later, I promise." She stood up and quietly humming to herself she walked around the arnea and bured kunai into a circle around Fukushi. She attached a scroll of chakra to each blade and when she was finished she walked towards the trapped shinobi. He was already trying to pull the blade out but she had buried it too far into the ground. She bent town and ripped off the jacket he wore until the fuuinjutsu he wore on his left arm was revealed in it's entirety. This was the point Fukushi realised what she was going to attempted.

"Shit Monica you're going to kill both of us. Please stop. You don't know what you're doing." His pleading fell on deaf ears until Monica had fished ripping off her standard ninja attire. She too was topless and the last remaining scraps of clothing where being burnt off with her own fire.

"Then at least we die together."

"Fuck you're crazy."

"No!" She snapped. "I just wanted you, this way I'll make certain of it and Aya will never steal you away from me."

"She isn't stealing me! She's dead for fuck sake!" But Monica ignored him and slowly pressed her chakra onto the skin of her left arm. Her fire slowly spread and burnt the patterns onto her flesh. Once she was done she cut her thumb and pressed it on top of Aya's print.

"Is this right?" Monica spoke to herself but continued on reguardless. She saddled Fukushi and grabbed his weaked right arm and just it for him. He was powerless to resist as she lifted his weakened hand and pressed his thumb on her chest. She blushed momentarally as no doubt some questionable thought flashed through her mind.

"Monica… Please… Don't do this…"

"So this proves that you don't want me?"

"I.. didn't say that… you know what I…" She kissed him on the lips. She was surprisingly gentle despite willingfully signing off their lives. There was a reason Fukushi had spend a great deal of his childhood over the particular jutsu. Monica concentrated as the Fuuinjutsu spirled in from the ten kunai towards the pair. She could feel her chakra was already being pulled to her arm. Her heart started racing as various parts of her body began to feel like they were burning. A feeling not too dissimilar to fire itself. She grabbed a hold of Fukushi's hand and held on tightly. She opened her mouth to speak but just as she did so. Sasuke appeared above her and struck the back of her head in one quick motion. Fukushi saw the man stand above him. His vision was getting blurry through exhaustion as consciousness was already leaving him.

"Fukushi, sorry I'm late. Is there a way to stop the jutsu?"

"Why… didn't you come?" Fukushi spoke at a whisper, arguably closer to death than ever before. "It.. can't… stopped…" As he passed out Sasuke sighed, as soon as he noticed was her plan was he tried his best to break the force field. He had admitted it was very strong to break considering it had resisted half of the shinobi in the entire village for at least five minutes. He stood over the dying couple as their chakra slowly escaped their bodies and into the surrounding ether. Was this what Naruto saw of him? Powerless to prevent another from leading into the darkness? Then again, Naruto managed against all odds and Sasuke considered himself as the blond equal. His sharingan sparked up and he gazed about the fuuinjutsu.

"Sai pass me some paper and ink."

"Sure, but why?"

"Just do it." Sasuke was running out of time. Said handed him his equiptedment and Sasuke drew the jutsu out as fast as his reflexes allowed him to. He had seen it done once before and he was confident with the Sharingan he could do it again. He handed the drawing back to Sai. "Correct any mistakes. Now!" Sai nodded and jumped around and quickly got his eye in.

"Sasuke what are you trying to do?" Kiba asked as he had helped get through the force field.

"Kiba, and everyone get by a kunai and push your chakra into it." He ignored other questioning looks as he slowly closed his hands into the first sign. He thought back to when Kakashi had tried to seal his curse mark after the chunin exams. He copied the pace and mono-tone one sign after another. Flawlessly exectuted to only the way only Uchihas could achieve, perfection.

Sasuke finally finished and opened his eyes. The arms of the two shinoibi were glowing as expected. It looks like he saved them again. Everyone around the jutsu was clearly breathless as the gluttonus jutsu took all it needed to soul bind the two.

"So that was the soul binding jutsu?" Kakashi asked first.

"What… the fuck… was that?" A tired Anko shouted, clearly too tired to hear that Kakashi had already answered.

"Now no one can doubt the calibre of the Solaris family." Sasuke spoke firmly. If he was younger he knew this would have made him jealous but he couldn't deny the body language he saw before the one-eyed ninja passed out. This was forced, and the Uchiha was right to intervene. Many people hesitated that they were in a life-threatening situation. To those who did not know different only saw what looked to be a domestic despute turning violent but not life threatening.

"Why did they soul bind here? it's a bit odd isn't it?" Sai asked, signalling at the fact they were in an arena. Even Sai knew there were better places to do something that was supposed to be intimate. He had mentally filed the soul binding as a form of intimacy, just like sex, or kissing. He was taught there was a time and place although he was still confused over what was the correct time and place. At least he knew enough to know it was not in the middle of a sparring match.

"I have a bad feeling that it was forced on him by Monica." Sasuke spoke bitterly. She had betrayed him in his eyes but now could not do anything about it. Aya had told him that breaking the jutsu resulted in death for both partners. Save for rare cases.

"Forgive me Sasuke, but why are you going to such lengths to save this shinobi?" Tenten asked.

"Simple answer, we need him. Naruto is using this same jutsu to keep Hinata alive and no one knows it better than him. Naruto never gave up on me, so I can't forsake him when the help I need is right here." He gestured to the unconscious couple.

"But didn't you just copy his jutsu."

Sasuke sighed. "Tenten, I can copy jutsu not necessarally understand how to use it. I've been told it could have devastating effects."

"What about before Naruto and Hinata was mortally wounded?" Lee asked, he jumped down to join his comrads. "You had youthful interested in him before."

"Resources." Shikamaru interrupted. "Sasuke most have found out in Iwa that he has a large resume of jutsu. Clearly he was able to teach Monica something because honestly, she was set to beating Naruto in dead last. So instead of wasting the opertunity, Sasuke intervened."

"I guess you're right." Sasuke turned to leave the arena, he had not been explicit of his intentions over saving another from a fate he knew would only bring more pain. Taking a leaf from Naruto by doing so. Only the Hokage knew of his deeds on his journeys, and Sakura had an idea. It was a wonder how rumours had not reached Konoha yet. He stepped over still hot sand, the fires were put out when Monica's chakra reached critically low but the sand was still glassed in many areas.

Monica woke up with a start. Her body ached but she was somewhere she least expected. Some sort of wide open red desert. There wasn't anything for miles in any direction. No landmarks, no features and not even a sun to indicate a direction.

"wha? Where am i? Fuku? Can you hear me?" Her voice was sweet once more and even held I hint of fear. She looked around over and over until she finally saw a figure walking towards her with quite a pace to its step.

"Fuku!... Wait who are you?" She noticed her hair was a light blue, like her own chakra although the red light gave her a purple tint. She was wearing a white Kimono-like dress with the sleaves very short and barely covered her shoulders. Embroided around her dress were flowers that Monica did not recognise, as they were not from the five nations but further afield. Monica realised she adorned the same arm that Fukushi, Naruto, Hinata and now herself, although she realised that fact too late as she was now standing in front of the orange-haired shinobi.

Slap.

The sound echoed throughout the landscape and held such force it nearly knocked Monica over, certainly enough to make any onlooker wince. She held her cheek as it stung worse than most beatings she had. The bluenette was glaring holes into the girls' soul and she shrank under the intense killing intent.

"W… W-why? What did I do to you?"

"- _Not to me, but to Fukushi-_."

 **End of Act II**

 **What will happen to Naruto and Hinata?**

 **What about Fukushi and Monica?**

 **How about Sasuke and Sakura?**

 **Can't forget about Konohagakure...**

 **Keep on the look out for the third act. Once I organise the plot i'll be posting.**

 **Thank you for the support, I'll be working on rewriting the earlier chapters and on my other story (shameless advertisement).**


	29. Gonna replace this story

Hello viewers, back from the dead guys… well almost. I am about up to my chin in work but if you were to wait for a month I can actually continue my stories. I am posting here to say that I am starting this story again. I have 28 overhauled chapters ready to be pumped out once a week. They are essentially the same story only with huge plot holes refilled and I am deleting this thread after a few weeks. Hopefully the revision of this story proves to be more interesting to read :D.

So stay tuned I am going to post the new story soon after this message.


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